Burning Water
by ElanNore
Summary: Rubbing the back of his head, Zuko muttered, "Mai... Why does she hate me?" Mai responded, "I don't know. And why do you care?" Obviously, Mai was not pleased at all, by the frown on her face.' A story about a Fire Nation Waterbender, joining the Gaang.
1. Unexpected Visitor

New Member

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Kaara **

Chapter 1: Unexpected Visitor

Aang woke up. He heard a moan from above the temple; he saw a foot hanging off the cliff when he walked outside his room. "Katara, Sokka, Toph, wake up!! I think someone found us," Aang said as he knocked his or her door rooms. Zuko woke up on his own, even if Aang did not call him.

Katara walked out of her room, and asked, "What happened, Aang? Who found us? Firebender, Airbender, Waterbender, or Earthbender?" Her blue eyes glared at Zuko, as he walked out of his room.

Grumbling something about five minutes, Sokka tramped out of his room. Toph followed out, rubbing her pale green eyes. She growled, "What do you want?!

Aang pointed to the foot hanging off the cliff above the Western Air Temple. He got his glider and said, "I'll fly up and see who it is, if it's a Firebender, I'll yell, 'Water', if it's a friend, I'll tell you." He swooped out of the temple, and went out of the cliff.

Katara said, "How can anyone find us? It's almost impossible, unless someone told someone." She glared at Zuko, suspecting him of giving away their hideout.

Aang's head popped down from the cliff, as he shouted, "I think it's a Firebender, but she doesn't look okay. Appa, can you come here!!" The flying bison flew up the cliff, and a few moments later he came back, carrying Aang and another figure on his back. Carefully, Aang slid the figure off Appa's back.

Toph uttered, "She's unconscious, and very weak. Her breathing is too weak."

"She's wearing Fire Nation clothing, but other than that, I doubt she's a Firebender; the Fire Nation would not put a Firebender in chains," Zuko said, as he observed the girl. She had pale skin, black hair, and a thin figure. The girl looked around 16 or 15, and her breaths were short and quick. Blood dripped from her wounds, and her hands were bound by massive chains, either to prevent her bending or to prevent her from using her hands.

Toph said, "Let me get rid of the chains." Closing her eyes, Toph bended the metal, so the chains broke.

Katara suggested, "I'll try to heal her. Sokka, can you carry her to my room?" He groaned as he carried the girl to Katara's room.

()

The next morning, Kaara woke up, wondering why she felt something so soft beneath her. Getting up, Kaara opened her sea green eyes, and saw the ancient, stone room. Following her instinct, Kaara immediately jumped up from the bed, and bended water near the bed.

Katara jerked from the chair, and exclaimed, "You're awake!! And you're a Water bender!!" She smiled, and her smile disappeared, when she said, "You need to go back to bed, you're injuries still aren't completely healed!"

Realizing she wasn't in any danger, Kaara felt massive pains in her sides and her chest. She clutched her bandaged sides, and groaned, "What am I doing here?" Kaara fell to the floor, and her black hair covered her face.

The door opened, and Aang's, Sokka's, and Toph's heads appeared. Sokka asked, "Nobody told you about this place right?" Katara nudged him with her elbow into his gut.

Kaara said, calmly, "I don't even remember getting here." She got up, and held out her bandaged hand. "I'm Kaara, and thanks for helping me."


	2. Introductions

**Chapter 2: Introductions**

Aang said, "I'm Aang, the Avatar." He shook her hand, as her mouth opened. "Umm, what's wrong?" questioned Aang.

Kaara said, "I never expected to meet the last Airbender, and the Avatar." She bowed and continued, looking at everyone else, "And who are you?"

Toph introduced herself, "Hello, I'm Toph, the blind earthbender." Kaara bowed, and shook her hand. Toph was rather impressed that Kaara did not go all 'Are-you-okay-you-poor-thing?' like some people.

"I'm Katara, the water bender and healer. It's so nice to meet another water bender," said Katara.

Sokka held out his hand, and grinned, as he said, "I'm Sokka, Katara's sister. And that lump of coal behind us is Zuko, prince of the Fire Nation." He expected Kaara to almost kill Zuko, but she did the opposite.

"I can introduce my self. I'm Zuko, as you've heard," muttered Zuko, hiding in the shadows.

Katara asked, "Which tribe are you from? The Northern or Southern tribes?" She seemed very eager to learn the information. Kaara's face turned very blank, as if Katara was speaking an alien language.

"What?" Kaara blinked at Katara, and continued, "I've never been out of the Fire Nation, till now." She sat on Katara's bed, looking at the dusty floor.

Aang asked, "What? And you're a water bender? Were you kidnapped or something?! Or did you-!!" Toph had just covered his mouth with her hand,

"Shut up, Aang. It's her business, and she can tell us if she wants, but don't kill her with questions," growled Toph.

Katara said, "Everyone go away, I'll stay here." She ushered everyone out her room, then sat next to Kaara. "If you want, you can tell me what happened. You don't have to, if you don't feel ready."

Kaara said, "Even though I barely know you, I trust you. So I'll tell you what happened. My mother was taken on a raid when she was a young adult living in the Northern Water tribe; she was almost taken to the Fire Nation prisons, but a Fire Nation general, my father, didn't let them take her. He had fallen in love with her, only because of her great beauty, at first, though. So, unwillingly, my mother came with him, and she learned he was not a bloodthirsty person, unless he was on the battlefield. My mother fell in love with him, and my father loved her for what she was. Because she was in the Fire Nation, my mother had to pretend she was part of the Fire Nation, if they found out her real origin, my father would go to jail, and my mother would be killed. A few years later, I was born, during the solar eclipse, so my parents expected me to have a talent in bending, either fire or water. They were right, so when I grew up, I learned water bending from my mother, who was also a water bender. However, someone saw us water bending, and w-w-we got captured," Kaara continued, as tears fell down her face, "My mother was killed, and my father went to jail. I was locked up, apart from my dad of course. After six years, I escaped, but I can't remember how. So here I am." Taking in a big breath, Kaara asked, "Do you believe me?"

Katara did not doubt her, much, so she said, "I believe you, but just to make sure, I'll ask Toph. She can tell if you're lying." Toph came in at the right time, and Kaara repeated her story.

"She's not lying, sounds like a really sad story," Toph said, after a few minutes. Her jade eyes looked as if she could really see.

Kaara though, '_I wonder how Toph can see, even if she's blind…I hope she doesn't take it personally.' _She asked, "Toph, I know you're blind, but how can you tell when people lie, or where you walk?"

"Well, you see. I am blind, but when I ran away one day from my home, I got lost in a cave. Then, I met earth badgers, so I learned how to interact with my environment and bend. So, I can 'see' with vibrations in the earth, so I can tell you where you are, and where anyone else is. But, I can't 'see' when I'm in the air or in water, which stinks. As for my lie detector, people shake or their bodies change movements or their voices change, so I can tell when they lie, most of the time…" The last phrase was barely heard, as Toph remembered Azula's lie that was about her being a platypus bear; Toph couldn't tell she was lying, though she knew she was.

"Aahh, I see… By the way, where am I?" asked Kaara, as she looked around the dusty room. She looked outside through the window, and saw the temple. Fountains sputtered clear water, pillars were carved with erosion and paintings, some buildings were built upside down, so you could only get up if you jumped or flew. Appa slept below a dome that poured water down, so waterfalls formed, as they poured down.

Aang and Sokka came in, and Aang answered, "You're in the Western Air Temple, an Air Nomad temple outside of the Fire Nation."


	3. Waterbending Teacher

**Chapter 3: Waterbending Teacher**

"What?! I can't be that far!!" Kaara's eyes expanded to their full size, as she stared at the ground. She realized something strange had happened to her, which led to her escape. After a few minutes, she shrugged, and said, "It wasn't exactly heaven, so I guess I'm not surprised I got here… You guys are benders right?"

"Well, most of us. I'm the boomerang guy," Sokka growled, and took out his boomerang and shook it around.

Zuko said, as he walked in, "Yeah, but what does that have to do with you?" He rolled his eyes, and thought, '_Like she needs to know what we are. I doubt she's even a good bender, if she is one at all.'_

Kaara replied, "Well, I would really like that you guys, could help me improve my waterbending. My waterbending is okay, but not perfect." She showed them, by waterbending the water in the glass, and making the water turn into whip, that splashed down onto the floor.

Toph said, "But we're different types of benders, but Katara can teach you. She's a master water bender."

"Yeah, how can we teach you, if Toph, Zuko, and I bend different elements from you?" said Aang as showed his bending powers, by making a tiny whirlwind in his hands.

Katara smiled, and offered, "I can help you, if you want!!" She thought, '_At least I can teach someone now!! Aang wasn't exactly my pupil, he was better than me, while it lasted." _

Kaara replied, despite her disappointments, "Thanks, when can you teach me, Katara?" Smiling, Kaara pointed to the fountain and the waterfalls. Before Katara could reply, Kaara said, "Great!" She jumped to the window, and hopped out of the room.

Sokka said, "There goes our plan, we have Aang #2." He fell to the floor, soon after a gust of strong wind was heard.

Kaara bounced to the fountain, and immediately stopped, when she saw Appa. The flying bison opened his amber brown eyes, and stared at the girl's excited face. She gasped, "You must be that flying bison!!" A smile appeared on her faced, as Kaara hugged the bison's long fur. Appa stood up, and licked Kaara's face. Giggling, Kaara buried her face in his fur.

Back in Katara's room, the gang eyed the strange girl. Sokka protested, "How do we know we can trust her? She's part of the Fire Nation, the people who caused the war!! Anyway, she acts like a child!! That could affect our plan to destroy the Fire Lord. We don't want the enemy to get even stronger." He marched back and forth, as he was jabbering away, why they can't trust her.

Katara replied flatly, "Sokka, you're always suspicious of people who are part of the Fire Nation. Anyway, Sokka, she's partly Water Tribe." She crossed her arms, and glared at Sokka.

"I dunno, maybe we should keep an eye on her, just incase," said Aang, as he scratched the back of his baldhead. He didn't know what to think about Kaara. Either she was an enemy, an ally, or maybe neutral.

Toph yawned, and said, "I'll leave you bird brains, so I can sleep." The blind Earth bender walked out of the room, her eyes closed.

In the corner, Zuko asked, "Do I have a say in this?" His personal opinion was that Kaara was an idiotic girl, who would be giggling all day long.

"No, you're not welcome in group discussions," snapped Katara, as she pointed her finger at him. Zuko recoiled, and walked out of the room.

Toph's voice was heard down the hall; "Katara, Kaara wants you." Katara sighed, and walked where Kaara was.

Kaara was sitting on a rock, practicing her bending. When Katara came into her view, she dropped the water. "So, do you want to begin?" asked Katara, bending the water on the floor. She showed her knowledge of water bending, by cutting rock with the water. Kaara nodded, and got ready to bend. Slowly, Katara showed Kaara the way to do a small wall of ice. Concentrating, Kaara tried to do the water whip, but she dropped the water, spilling it all over her bandaged clothes. Trying again, Kaara dropped it. After many tries, Kaara got angry.

"Katara, can you please teach me something else?" Kaara was glaring at the wall of snow, which melted from the heat.

"Kaara, you still need to practice, but oh well. I'll teach you the Water Whip," said Katara. She showed Kaara how to make a Water Whip, and showed the intensity of the whip, by crashing a boulder into pebbles.

Grinning, Kaara bended the water, and followed Katara's footsteps. The first try caused Katara to jump out of the way. Katara said, "Um, Kaara, I think you should actually hit a rock, instead of an _ally._"

Sighing, Kaara practiced her Water Whip many more times, until she was too tired to bend. The sky was turning a shade of purple, indicating it was time to stop training. She groaned, "I'm too tired… Do I still need to practice?"

Looking at the rocks littering the ground, Katara said, "I don't think you need to practice your Water Whip, but you should practice making shields to protect yourself. We have dinner now, so let's go."

Kaara nodded, and she replied, "I'll just rest here, call me when it's time to eat." Yawning, Kaara crossed her legs, and sat down on a flat stone. The girl tried to recall how she escaped from the Fire nation. After a few minutes, a sudden image appeared; a solar eclipse.

"Kaara!! Time to eat!" Katara's voice yelled, from nearby. An aroma of food surrounded the area.

Breathing hard, Kaara stuttered, "Okay, I-I'll be r-right the-re." '_The solar eclipse had to be part of my escape, but how? Maybe I escaped during the eclipse, that's it.' _Getting up, Kaara walked over to where everyone was sitting. Three boys were sitting on one side of the circle_, _and Aang, Katara, Toph, and Sokka on the other. Zuko was sitting against a pillar, eating a bowl of rice.

Aang said, "By the way, you haven't met the rest of the people with us. That is Haru, the Duke, and Teo."

"Hi, I'm Kaara!" Kaara said, as she waved at the boys. They waved back, and returned to their discussion. As she sat down next to Toph, she asked, "Why isn't Zuko sitting here, with us?" She stared at Zuko, wondering why he was sitting far off. He then faced her, looking into her eyes. Immediately, Kaara looked at the fire, blushing.

With food in his mouth, Sokka replied, "Because he's a jerk." After finishing his food, he continued, "Anyway, Katara told the idiot she would kill him even if he sat five feet away from Aang."

Aang asked, surprised, "You really said that Katara? Zuko is not really a bad guy, you know. He _helped _me learn Fire Bending." He drank some water, and yawned.

Katara blushed, until she realized Aang was talking about Zuko, not her. Playing with her hair, she said, "Well you are the Avatar, and the world needs you." Still blushing, she passed a bowl of steaming rice and water to Kaara.

Toph pointed to her feet and said, "He may have burned my feet, but that was an accident, I think."

Kaara ate her food, and sighed, when she saw there was no more food left in her bowl. She asked, "Um, where will I be sleeping?"

Toph said, "There's a room down the hallway, where everyone has a room. So, you can stay down in that room." She pointed to the room, and said, "Katara left some of her extra tunics there, since your clothes are kind of ripped."

"Thanks," said Kaara, as she stood up to go to her new room. She opened the door, and the first thing she noticed were the tunics on her bed. "These are nice, but maybe I can change these…"


	4. The Plan

**Chapter 4: The Plan**

Kaara snuck out of her room, and ventured around the Temple, looking for supplies. She opened a room near an echoing hall, and found everything she needed. Looking into the baskets, she collected certain plants, bowls, scissors, needles, thread, and extra cloth. Putting the supplies in a bag, she thought of how her outfit might look like. Finally, Kaara had the dress's design set firmly in her mind. Smiling, the silent girl snuck back to her room. Unfortunately, while Kaara was getting into her room, the door slammed loudly, the noise echoing off the walls.

Her eyes wide, Kaara stuffed the basket under her bed, and waited an hour, to make sure no one would come to her room. Sighing, she set all her supplies on the floor, as she sat down. She got out one of the tunics and pants. Undressing to her undergarments of bandages and cloth, Kaara put her old Fire Nation clothing onto the pile. The water next to her bed was bended into the wide clay bowl, while Kaara smashed the leaves until they turned into minute pieces. Next, she dropped the pieces into the bended swirling water. Five minutes later, the water turned a deep blue. Throwing her Fire Nation clothes into the water, Kaara decided to add something to one of her new tunics, so she threw it into the water. Deciding to wait for an hour for the dye to set in, Kaara looked around the room, until she found a scroll to read.

Sitting down in her bed, she started to read. The story was beautiful, probably the person who owned it, loved the story as much as Kaara. It kept her occupied, until she finished it. Yawning, Kaara checked the clothing, and saw it was done. The tunics were a light navy blue, and her old clothes were a dark blue. Taking out the scissors, Kaara grinned, as she began to cut.

Two hours later, after sewing, cutting, and more sewing, Kaara finally was finished with her dress. She decided to change the color of her pants, so Kaara dyed them a deep brown. Looking at her finished product, she thought, '_Very nice, but maybe something more…' _

Digging through the baskets, she found a few beads made out of gold and four deep blue colored beads. Kaara found big feathers in bird nests outside her room, and attached the gold beads and feathers together. She made two hair loops with the blue beads on each side of her head, copying Katara's loops, with her own twist. The hair loops were attached to a bun underneath the sea of black hair. Extra bandages were tied around her wrists, forearm, and around her neck. Feathers and the golden beads were on the forearm and wrist bandages, her sash, and the top of the dress.

Taking a look in the mirror opposite her bed, with her new clothes on, Kaara grinned. The finished product was a strapless dress mainly a dark sea blue, and the sash and the edge of the very top was a navy blue. One side of the dress was longer than the other, which had a triangular cut in it. Kaara's pants were an almost black brown, with bandages covering the top part of her chestnut boots. It was ideal for travel and fighting, but it could snag onto certain things.

Outside her window, the sun began to rise. Rubbing her eyes, Kaara went back to her bed and yawned. Sleep overcame her and she began to sleep.

0

"Kaara, wake up… It's time to get up. Kaara… Kaara, get up," said Katara's voice echoed through Kaara's head. With a rather loud voice, Katara's voice continued, "Kaara!! Get up!! Or I will personally use water to turn you into ice!!"

"Alright, alright… But in five minutes…" groaned Kaara, and something soft hit her hard on the side.

"I will keep hitting you, until you get up!!" said Katara, as she hit Kaara repeatedly with a pillow.

Getting up, and snatching the pillow from Katara, Kaara said, yawning, "You sound like my mom. If you hit me one more time, I will keep annoying you till I die."

Smirking, Katara replied, "Thank you, I guess I'm the mother of the group. I still will hit you. I've been trying to wake you up the past hour; you sleep like a rock. It's around 7:00 right now."

Grumbling, Kaara said, "I'm going back to sleep." She covered her face with her blanket, and closed her eyes.

"Get up _now_, or I will bring you back to the Fire Nation jail immediately," warned Katara.

"Fine, fine," sighed Kaara, as she got out of bed_. 'Jail was better than this; I could sleep all day.' _

Katara and Kaara walked to the main hall, where the group was resting around. Sokka and Aang were playing a board game; Sokka was apparently winning. Toph was sitting between the players, 'watching' the game. Zuko was sitting next to Aang, as he watched the game. The other three were exploring the temple.

Noticing Katara and Kaara approaching, Sokka put the board game aside, and pulled out a map. He said, "While you were trying to get Kaara out here, Aang, Toph, and I made a plan."

Aang said, "Zuko, too, since he knows everything about the Fire Nation."

"Great, so what's the plan?" Katara sat on the other side of Aang, as she stared at the paper. Kaara looked over the paper, and she raised her eyebrows. The paper was covered with thick lines, forming a rough outline of the Fire Nation.

Pointing finger at a small island, Sokka said, "Over here, is a prison, holding Fire Nation prisoners. We will invade it, releasing the prisoners. Hopefully, the prisoners will be on our side."

Zuko then said, "Then, we will find the rest of the invasion force in the prison, and that's the first plan."

Aang continued to the next plan, "When we finish rounding up people, we'll head to a secret Fire Nation harbor, which is hidden by rocks. There, we will stay for a few weeks, planning, training, and getting resources. So far that's it."

Kaara asked, "What are you guys doing?" She was confused by the plan.

Exchanging glances, the group thought. Toph finally said, "We're invading the Fire Nation. Now, you're either with us or without us."

Kaara replied, putting her hand behind her head, "No way!! I will definitely join you guys!"

"Kaara, you're not exactly the best water bender. You could get injured or worse, if you can't water bend," said Katara, hoping Kaara wouldn't want to be part of the benders.

Putting her hands on her hip, Kaara said, defiantly, "Katara, you still have time to teach me. By the time you guys are ready to invade the Fire Nation, I'll be good! Anyways Katara, you should continue training!! I'll meet you at the water falls!!" Skipping to the waterfalls, Katara groaned.

Sokka said, "I wonder what happened to her in prison." He looked back at the map, and began to draft the next plan.

Sighing, Katara began to walk towards the waterfall. She asked, "Kaara, ready?"

Nodding, Kaara got up, and bended some water from the falls. The bender began her training, which would continue for two weeks.


	5. The Memory

**Chapter 5: The Memory**

Yawning, Kaara sat up in her bed. Kaara stretched her tired arms; yesterday's training was too much. Getting up, Kaara practiced her bending. Over the last two weeks, her bending had massively improved. She made the water slash the rock nearby outside her room. The rock then split into many pieces, the pebbles rolling all over the floor. Satisfied, Kaara bended the water back into the cup. Pulling her dress over her head, Kaara was ready for the day. After putting on her pants, Kaara strolled out of her room, and found Sokka up early, reading the first plan. She asked, "Sokka, what are you doing?"

Sokka replied, not looking up, "I'm checking the plan; just incase there are problems…"

"I could help you. It's probably the prison I was in. Is it the Boiling Rock Fire Nation prison?" asked Kaara, as she reached for a bright red fruit in a nearby plate.

"Yeah, that's what it's called. So far I haven't found a way to get in," replied Sokka, tracing the map of the prison with his finger, as if trying to find an entrance.

With her mouth full of fruit, Kaara replied, "From above." She continued, after swallowing her food, "You could use the sky bison to carry us into the center. Since everybody knows the Avatar is alive, and the people you need are in that prison, I bet the security was strengthened. Obviously, the guards won't expect the sky bison, so that's how we get in."

Writing that down, Sokka suddenly asked, "But once everyone is out, how are we going to go out? Appa can't carry that many people, even if he took three or four trips."

Tossing the fruit core away, Kaara told him, "You see, since all the guards are always at the entrances, we sneak behind them, and knock them all out. I suggest we should go during midday, when the guards are mostly sleepy, from their night shifts."

Katara's voice echoed through the halls, "So, Kaara, you're helping Sokka with the plan?" She walked into their view, and smiled. "That's great. Now that Sokka finally finished, we're going to attack the prison today. We're leaving during lunch?"

Nodding, Kaara asked, "Are you going to train me today, Katara?"

"No, today, we're going to do one last thing. The attack on the prison is your last test; it will help you in the invasion," replied Katara, starting to prepare breakfast.

Walking slowly out of his room, Zuko yawned, and asked, "Sokka, did you finish it?

"Yeah, Kaara helped me, though," said Sokka, as he finished writing the rest of the plan. Katara passed a cup of water to Sokka and Kaara, and then put more ingredients into the turning water.

Zuko sat opposite of Kaara, and stared blankly at the wall. He didn't even notice Katara slamming a cup of water in front of him.

"Umm… So, Zuko, why did you leave the Fire Nation?" asked Kaara feebly, trying to bring up a conversation.

Zuko looked up, and replied, "Because I knew I had to." He returned to his staring, as he drank from his cup.

Kaara bended her water, making it colder, as she asked, "Well, this maybe random, but do you remember the last festival before your banishment, on Ember Island?"

"Oh yeah, where you there? I remember that festival. Wasn't there an accident about somebody who accidentally lit up a tree right?" Zuko suddenly remembered the happy times before he was exiled. The festival was celebrating something about the Fire Nation's accomplishments.

Laughing, Kaara started to blush. She giggled, "It was Azula! I saw her do it!" Finally, it seemed that they were starting to connect.

Zuko grinned, and then suddenly frowned. He looked at the floor, and replied, "Azula always was evil. They blamed me for that accident." Suddenly, he stood up, and walked towards his room.

Sighing, Kaara returned to bending her water. She was disappointed; she wanted to see what was wrong with Zuko, why he was so distant. But the bender had messed it up; she had to bring up Azula.

Katara looked at Kaara, and she questioned, "Kaara, are you okay? Why were you so friendly with Zuko?" Her instinct was to tell Kaara to leave Zuko alone, but she didn't want to be that too reactive.

Smiling, Kaara said, "It's just… Well, I just… I really don't know." For some reason, Kaara was starting to feel something with Zuko. Her cheeks were beginning to redden, as she spoke.

Eyebrows rising, Katara warned, "Kaara, I want you to watch out. Zuko isn't the trustworthiest person in the world. I think you should stay away." Katara sighed, noticing Kaara was in a daydream, probably about Zuko.

Swooping into the seat next to Sokka, Aang exclaimed, "Hey you finished it!" The young Avatar began to go into a discussion about the plan with Sokka.

Rubbing her eyes, Toph said, "Katara, did you finish making breakfast?" Eagerly, Toph took a steaming bowl of rice from Katara.

Before Katara could talk more about Zuko with Kaara, Kaara was devouring her fresh food.

0

After everyone had finished eating breakfast, and when Teo, the Duke, and Haru had arrived, Sokka had set up the maps, and was about to explain the plan.

Comfortable with the small group, Sokka said, "As you all know, we are going to invade the Fire Nation. The Day of Black Sun invasion was a failure, forcing us to leave most of the invasion force to surrender. Probably, the rest of the group is in this prison, Boiling Rock, which is off the southern coast of the Fire Nation, near the Fire Nation capital." Sokka pointed to a small island on the map, and then took out another map, showing the prison. He continued, "All of us will be carried to the island. Toph, Haru, and Aang will make sharps, tall stones around the island; low enough beneath the water, so the guards can't see them, but tall enough to destroy any ships that try to pass. Then Aang, Katara, and Kaara will make a cloud to surround Appa. Appa will go down into the center, where no one will expect anyone to arrive. Once we get to the place where the cells are, we will bust everyone out, including people we don't know. Since Appa can't carry us all, benders and warriors will try to make the guards surrender. If they do not, we take them, so they can't inform the Fire Nation." Taking off the map, Sokka replaced it with another map, showing a harbor of the Fire Nation. After showing a route from the prison to the harbor, Sokka said, "Here, we will stay for a while, getting prepared for the invasion, and we will finish the plan."

Everyone agreed, and began to prepare for the attack. Katara took her water skin bags, and filled them completely with water. Aang was polishing his staff, while Momo sat on his shoulder. Sokka practiced using his black blade, which glinted in the morning light. Toph and Haru were bending earth against each other, smashing some holes into the walls. Zuko was brandishing his two swords, and then practiced bending fire.

Sighing, Kaara looked out at the rest of the group. Her bending and skills couldn't compare to them. She sat cross-legged, and prepared her water bags. "Bleh! I hate being the least experienced here," muttered Kaara under her breath, bending the water into the containers. Not noticing Zuko approaching her, Kaara made a water whip, and spun it around.

With a shout, Zuko fell onto the temple floor. Blood dripped from a large gash on his hand. "Zuko!! I didn't mean it! I swear I didn't see you!" exclaimed Kaara, her hand covering her mouth.

Katara bolted towards Kaara, and asked, "What-" Her voice ceased, as she saw Zuko gripping his forearm. "Kaara, what did you do?!" The 14 year old rushed to the Fire Prince, and grabbed his arm.

"I was practicing the water whip! I didn't see Zuko coming behind me! The-then I saw him bleeding!" blurted Kaara, as she held her face in her hands. Katara started to bend water, trying to heal Zuko.

Zuko let go of his arm reluctantly and let Katara heal his arm. After wrapping bandages around his arm, Katara said, "Kaara, please, next time watch where you're bending." She stood up and continued, "Zuko, your wound should recover in about five days." Katara brushed dirt off her dress, and walked towards the fountain to wash her hands.

Kaara murmured, "Sorry Zuko, I didn't see you… Are you okay?" Her turquoise eyes looked at his golden ones, as she sat next to him.

With a questioning stare, Zuko asked, "Of course I'm okay. Why do you want to know though?"

"I just wanted to know if you're okay. You shouted, and you were bleeding a lot. So I guess that's why I want to know," replied Kaara as she rubbed her arm. Her cheeks began to burn, as she looked down at her feet. The silence between them stretched into what seemed like hours.

Zuko finally said, "Kaara, I want to ask you something… Have we ever met before? I know we were at the same places and all, but have we ever met face to face?"

Cheeks as red as beetroot, Kaara assumed, "I think we've might have… I think it was in the Fire Nation capitol. I don't remember exactly why we were celebrating. Let me thing for a minute…" She closed her eyes to concentrate… Immediately, the memory came to her mind.The memory was always coming into Kaara's mind during the time of her imprisonment.

_It was in the summer time, the day was humid and warm. It was one of her last happy memories. The most rich and famous people in the Fire Nation came to the celebration to celebrate a successful day in Fire Nation history. Kaara was rather childish and was complaining about the heat to her mom. She pulled on her mom's long robe, and whined, "Mom, do I have wear this coat? It's too hot!"_

_Quietly, Yoko warned, "If you don't stop complaining, I won't let you come to parties anymore! Now go off and play with the other children." Unwillingly, Kaara was pushed into 'playing' with the other children. Zuko sat near his usual spot near the turtle duck pond, throwing bread to the squawking birds. Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee were eying Kaara from far off. Noticing Kaara's nervousness as she approached the trio, Azula smirked, a devilish plan forming in her mind. _

_Azula whispered into the ears of her friends, as Kaara stammered, "C-could I-I st-tay with y-you for a while?" _

_Making a sly smile, Azula responded, "Of course you can. But first, we want you to do something. You need to push Zuko into the pond."_

_Kaara look confused, as she said, "Why? Why would I do something so mean?" _

_Crossing her arms, Azula snickered, "Well, why should I let you stay with us?" She looked at Kaara's desperate face, and continued, "Exactly, now go on." _

_Walking hesitantly towards Zuko, Kaara looked over her shoulder. Azula's smirk still was on her face. Zuko stared at the water, feeding the turtle ducks some food. Cautiously, Kaara pushed Zuko with a small amount of force. _

_Almost falling, Zuko commanded, "What's wrong with you? Were you trying to push me into the water?!" _

_Kaara's cheeks turned red, as she guiltily confessed, "Yes, Prince Zuko… Your sister, Princess Azula, told me to do it…so I just followed her orders… I'm sorry…"_

_Zuko stared at her for a moment, and then said, "That's okay… At least you didn't push me into the pond. I've never seen you before; who's your dad?"_

_Looking up, Kaara said, cheerfully, "My dad is one of the generals, or whatever he is."_

"_Oh, I see… You're lucky that you still have a mom…" mumbled Zuko, throwing a small piece of bread into the water. Turtle ducks started to gather around the pond. _

"_Yeah, I am lucky. I heard about Queen Ursa's disappearance. Are you ever sad about what happened?" asked Kaara, as she sat down next to Zuko. _

_Zuko's expression hardened, as he said, "I'm a boy; boys don't cry. And leave me alone!!" He ran off into the palace, tears falling down his face._

_Kaara exclaimed, getting up and following him, "Zuko!! I'm sorry!! I didn't mean to insult you!" She found him leaning against one of the majestic pillars of the palace. _

_He said, "Just leave me alone… I don't feel like talking to you. So go away!" Tears were falling from his golden eyes, as Zuko sat cross-legged on the marble floors. _

"_Zuko, I' m sorry… I just wanted to know how you felt about your mother… I'll leave if you want…" Kaara glanced at him through the corner of her eyes, walking towards the door. _

_She felt a hand on her shoulder, as Zuko's voice said, "I'm sorry…I just overreacted. To tell you the truth, I do miss my mom. I sometimes cry, sometimes I think she left because of me. I always wonder where she is…Even if she is alive or dead. I wish I still had my mother, like you."_

_Kaara looked down at her feet, and replied, quietly, "Zuko, I have to go now…" She started to run outside of the palace, her heart pounding. Zuko's voice echoed, "Wait!! What's your name?!"_

_Blushing, she said as she hugged her mom, "I feel so happy, mom!" Not asking, her mother smiled, and hugged her daughter. _

Kaara sighed absentmindedly, as Zuko interrupted her thoughts. "We've never met, have we? We were just at the same place and time, though. Your eyes seem familiar though." He peered at her closely, before continuing, "You seriously do look like someone I've met. Not everyone I meet has sea green eyes."

Looking back at him, she said, "Maybe we have maybe we haven't." Kaara grinned, and stood up to talk to Katara. She glanced at Zuko and saw his priceless, confused expression on his face. A giggle came from the young woman, stifled by her hand.


	6. Forgiveness

**Author's note:**

**avatarairis: **Thanks for the advice and you're the first commenter! Kaara was made to be that peppy, as she was jailed at the age of 11. Kaara had become depressed, but when she realized she was free, she got excited and was her 11 year old self. Kaara has though matured more in this chapter, and she'll mature more in later chapters. I got annoyed with myself when I skipped two weeks in the story, but I couldn't think of much for those two weeks. Thanks, and anytime, please give advice, if you find any problems.

**Warning: **There is some blood in this chapter, so if you don't like that err... Don't read it. Kaara is not emo by the way, she was just sacrificing something for her bending, plus the sun possessed her.

**Chapter 6: Forgiveness**

Katara noticed Kaara's strange antics, and asked, "Kaara are you okay? You're acting very strange."

Giggling, Kaara replied, "Nothing! When are we leaving by the way? I want to make sure I'm ready."

"In a few minutes we'll leave," informed Katara, as she pulled one of her loops back into her small bun. "Kaara, I want you to practice some water bending moves, okay? Just in case you have to bend."

'What? Just in case? Of course I'm going to bend,' thought Kaara as she held a sphere of water in her hands, and then bended it into a small arrow made of ice. She watched Aang practice airbending. He was creating an air scooter, and riding it up and down the walls. "Cool… I wish I could do that." Watching his movements closely, Kaara tried to memorize it. Concentrating on the water in front of her, she mimicked Aang's movements. She felt herself hovering for a moment and looked down; she was riding on a scooter made of water. Grinning broadly, Kaara rode the scooter a bit, until the scooter turned back into a puddle.

"Kaara! It's time to go!" yelled Katara. Everyone was on Appa, ready for the attack.

Kaara jumped up, and leaped onto Appa's massive, wooden saddle. With a 'Yip Yip', the sky bison flew from the Western Air Temple towards the ocean. They flew over the rolling waves of the ocean, mist as their cover. "By the way Aang, can benders bend their own elements, but use different forms of bending styles?" asked Kaara, as she peered at the water below.

"Umm…what do you mean, Kaara? It doesn't make sense," Aang said, looking confused.

"Well, for example, a water bender mimics a move of say, an Airbender, something like a tornado. Instead of bending air, the bender makes either a cloudish tornado or a tornado made of water. Is that possible?" Kaara looked at him, and waited for an answer.

Sokka turned around and said, "Entirely impossible, unless you're some multi-bending guy like Aang."

Zuko then informed, "That's not true, it could be possible, depending on your bending style and knowledge. I bet any bender could do it, if their talent is enough."

Katara said, sarcastically, "Zuko, you have so much talent, you could bend a earthquake of fire." This was received with a glare.

Aang suggested, "I guess you could Kaara, if you practice really hard and observed the bending style. Why, though?"

Shrugging, Kaara said, "I just thought of it, and wanted to learn more. Thanks, though." She sat along the edge of Appa's saddle, and glanced at sky. The sun was at its highest point in the sky.

Sokka exclaimed, "There! There's the prison!" He pointed his finger at a large building on a tiny island in the middle of the ocean. It was in the shape of a hexagon, and in the middle of the building was a smaller hexagon shaped courtyard, where Appa would land.

Katara said, "Aang, Kaara, get ready to bend the cloud. Kaara do you know how to create a cloud?"

"I guess I can," replied Kaara, as she watched Aang and Katara bend clouds. She copied their movements, and create a thick mist around some parts of Appa; a cloud.

Aang went back to his seat between Appa's horns, and said, "Appa, go down there!" The massive sky bison flew towards the empty courtyard, hidden by the clouds. He landed onto the cobblestones, spreading loose dust in the air. Aang said, "Appa, stay here. I'll see you later, buddy." Appa made a rumbling noise, and shuffled towards a corner.

Zuko looked at their surroundings and asked, "Where's the entrance to the cells?"

Toph made a large, deep hole in the ground, and said, "Down." She jumped down, grunting as she landed. The rest of the group followed.

Kaara gazed through the hole, and saw that the floor was six feet below her. "How in the world can they jump that much…" The waterbender tried to get down by holding onto the edges, but her fear wouldn't let her go down. Katara looked up and said, "Kaara, what are you doing? You need to get down here, now!"

"But it's far down! How am I supposed to go down?" replied Kaara, as she looked at Katara.

"Just jump!!" said Katara, crossing her arms impatiently. Closing her eyes, Kaara jumped. Instead of landing on her feet, she landed on back. Sighing, Katara pulled up Kaara, and led her to the rest of the team.

Sokka pulled out a map of the prison, and pointed to the many halls. "Okay, since there's about twelve halls in the prison, we should split up to release more people. But the six outer halls are heavily guarded, so all of us either go to the six inner halls. Haru and the Duke, you take this hall. Katara and Aang, you go to these two. Toph and I will go together to these other two. And Zuko, you and Kaara got to the last inner hall here."

The four groups split up to release the prisoners. The halls were long and on each side, there were twenty doors leading to dark cells. At the end of each hall were doors leading to the outer halls, where the guards were. Kaara and Zuko walked towards the two first cells and opened them by bending. With thick ice needles, Kaara was able to open the door. Using fire to melt the door, Zuko released the first prisoner.

Kaara opened the door, and found no one inside. Instead, there was dried blood around the floor, walls, and around the door. She looked at the door and realized it was a new one, replacing the old one. The waterbender walked in, and looked around. In one of the corners, was a bed splattered with blood. The corner opposite the bed had strange etchings. Upon closer study, Kaara saw that they were tallies, one for each day. She counted them, and gasped. Kaara realized that it was her cell. Memories came flashing into her mind.

_Kaara sat on the bed, and gazed at the solar eclipse. She sought for a way to bend again. The eclipse was making her feel weird. The strange feeling caused her to get out the poorly cut blade she used to make tallies on the walls, counting her days in jail, 1,825 days in all. Kaara felt possessed as she slashed a cut in her wrist. The blood poured out, and Kaara felt the connection to the solar eclipse strengthen. She now had her bending source; the water in her veins. Feeling a strange excitement tingling in the tips of her fingers, Kaara bended for the first time in years. Darkness started to fill the room, as Kaara bended the blood, turning it into a deadly weapon. She blasted the door open, and the guards started to run towards her. They had no bending powers, allowing Kaara a chance to escape. The bender ran out, leaving the blood behind her. More guards surrounded her, but they were unable to stop her. Water was everywhere, even in living organisms. Kaara glanced at a table next to her; there was a plant, something filled with water. She bended the water out of it, killing the plant, but she didn't notice. The water pushed the guards away, and Kaara bended the water to push the door open. Kaara smiled, as she stepped out of the prison. The only thing that stopped her now, was the sea. People couldn't cross the sea, unless they were waterbenders. A smile flickered on Kaara's face, as she jumped into the water, and then she bended the water to shoot her through the water. _

_0_

_Kaara sighed, and dragged herself towards the cliff. She was far from the ocean now, and only the few stops and small amounts of food pushed her towards this island, probably some island on the Fire Nation. But something was strange about it; it was too peaceful and there was so much mist. With a groan, Kaara fell onto her head, clearing her memory of the last few days. The next thing she knew, was being in the strange room…_

Zuko asked, as he saw, Kaara in the middle of the room, on the floor, "Kaara, what ha-" He stopped in mid-sentence, when he saw all the blood. His eyes were open with shock, and he said, "Kaara, what is this?"

Kaara looked up, and said, gravely, "Nothing… Let me go to the next cell…" She stood up, and walked stiffly towards the next cell. Her bending was not as swift as before, and she opened the next cell, letting out the next prisoner. Zuko looked at her once more, before releasing more prisoners.

After finishing the hall, Zuko and Kaara led the prisoners they released into the courtyard, where the rest of the captives and the rest of the team were. The inmates who were benders and could help keep the guards hostage followed them. The rest stayed behind.

Katara and Sokka were staying near an unfamiliar man, who seemed like someone very close to the two siblings. Katara found Kaara, and said, "This is my father."

Her father smiled gently, and said, "It's nice to meet another person with Water Tribe blood. I'm Hakoda, and you are?"

"Kaara, it's nice to meet you, too, sir," replied Kaara, as she bowed Fire Nation style. Kaara sighed, and walked into the outer halls. Everyone was ready to attack the guards, as the crept towards the guards. The first guard was taken down, the others swiftly followed. By a half hour, all the guards were now hostages. The plan had worked.

All the Water Tribe warriors congratulated Sokka for his successful plan. His father was especially proud of him. Kaara leaned against the wall, the haunting memory of her escape still fixed in her mind.

Zuko looked at Kaara, and asked her, "Kaara, ever since you saw that cell, you've been acting strange. What's wrong?"

Kaara looked at him, ashamed of using her blood to escape, and replied, quietly, "Zuko, do you really want to know?" He nodded, and she explained everything. By the end of her explanation, tears were falling from her eyes. "I feel so bad Zuko, I used my own blood to escape. What type of person uses blood for bending?"

"Kaara, you were born on a solar eclipse, like Katara told us, right?" asked Zuko, and continued, when Katara gave him a small nod, "So maybe you when you were exposed to the eclipse, it kind of possessed you. So you wanted to find a way to escape, so the only way you could escape, was by bending. But there was no water anywhere near you, so maybe the closest thing to water, was blood, so you used that. You shouldn't feel so ashamed, Kaara. I feel even more ashamed for the things I've done."

"What happened?" asked Kaara, curious about what had happened to Zuko. She felt less ashamed when Zuko started to explain about his father, Azula, Uncle Iroh, and his life.

Ending with a sigh, Zuko said, "And even more worse, I left my girlfriend back in the Fire Nation."

"Oh…" said Kaara, and her head snapped up, as she heard the word 'girlfriend'. "What?! You have a girlfriend? Who?" Her voice showed a bit of shock.

A smile grew on his face, as the Prince said, "Mai. You know her right?"

"Yes, I do," said Kaara acidly, as she gritted her teeth. She thought, 'Why in the world would he like a girl who's…Who's…Who's so emotionless?! How in the world did he begin to like that big blob of no emotions?!' Kaara felt jealousy and anger boil in her stomach. Her emotions were interrupted, when she saw a knife-like object hurtling through the air, towards Zuko. Immediately, Kaara bended water out of her water skin bag, and used the water to propel the knife out of Zuko's way. Instead of hitting Zuko, it pinned his sleeve to the metal wall.

"Well hello Zuko," came Mai's voice from one of the halls. She stepped from the shadows; her even bangs covering her eyes. "It seems now that you remember me."

Zuko's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "Mai! What are you doing here?"

"Well, Zuko, my cousin works here. My mother wanted me to see him, but now, I see I've found someone else," replied Mai, emotionless, eyes narrowing. Her eyes looked at Kaara, and Mai said, coolly, "So, Zuko, you left to join the Avatar. Kaara, I'm surprised to see you here. I see I'm out of the picture, now, Zuko."

"What do you mean, Mai? Wait… Of course not, Mai! Of course she's not my girlfriend!" replied Zuko, his voice shocked.

Kaara replied, "So, you're Zuko's girlfriend. I could be polite right now, and leave you alone. But now, because of what you said, I think I've changed my mind." Her turquoise eyes narrowed as she looked at Mai with fury and angry.

"Well, never mind about what I said. I need to talk to Zuko, alone," said Mai, as she pushed Kaara aside. She began to talk to Zuko, something about the letter.

Kaara glared at Mai, and sighed. She hit herself, and mumbled, "How could I be so stupid to think Zuko would like me? He already likes someone else!!"

0

"Zuko, I can't believe this is just what you wrote in your letter!!" cried Mai, as she pulled out the letter. She read, "'Dear Mai, I'm sorry I have to go now. I'm going with the Avatar. Love, Zuko.' Why didn't you just say it in my face, Zuko?"

Zuko leaned against the wall, wishing the wall would eat him right now. He answered, "Mai, I love you, a lot. But I didn't know what would happen if I told you! It's either you would have broken up with me, or told anyone where I was going." He tried to put his hand against her cheek, but she slapped him.

"Zuko, I wouldn't want you dead at all, I would have understood," said Mai, but she continued, "Zuko, I love you… But you did something wrong, Zuko."

"Mai, please, forgive me?" Zuko held her hand, and his eyes showed he was truly sorry.

Instead of pulling her hand away, Mai said, "Fine, Zuko, just this once… Does that mean I join you and the Avatar?"

Zuko smiled, and exclaimed, "You want to help us, Mai?" She nodded, and the couple kissed, reunited once again.


	7. Love

**Chapter 7: Love**

Sokka prodded one of the guards with his boot, and inquired where any of the ships were. Kaara walked on by, ignoring everything. First, she told Zuko of her escape, and suddenly he brushes it off, as if she said nothing. Trying not to cry, Kaara looked back, and saw Zuko and Mai kissing. She felt stabs inside of her, as she kicked the nearest wall.

"Suki!!" yelled Sokka's voice, causing Kaara to turn around. Sokka had run to a girl with brown hair and dark blue eyes. She watched them kiss, and smiled. 'At least that's sweet.' Kaara sighed, and sat next to Katara. "Who's that girl, that Sokka just kissed?"

Katara replied, "That's Suki; a person we met. She's Sokka's girlfriend and she's a Kyoshi Warrior. She was imprisoned a long time ago, and Aang and I found Suki. Kaara, what's wrong?" Her blue eyes stared at Kaara, worried.

The smile on Kaara's face disappeared, and she mumbled, "Nothing… Nothing at all. I'm just disappointed…"

"Why? What happened?" asked Katara, her voice sounding troubled. Katara was Kaara's best friend and Waterbending teacher; what couldn't Kaara tell to Katara? Easy, being in love with Zuko, the son of the horrid Ozai.

Thinking quickly, Kaara decided to lie. "My father… I didn't find him. His name was Kozen…" Kaara felt an anger pulsing through her veins, for lying and for Zuko.

Katara replied, quietly, "Kaara, that's okay. We can find your father. What did he look like? I did see a man who had dark black hair like you, and kept murmuring something about finding Yoko…"

"Wait… Did you say 'Yoko'?" asked Kaara, suddenly interested in what Katara was saying.

"Yeah, why?" answered Katara. Kaara forgot about Zuko, and immediately, gasped.

"It's my mother's name. My father is here and he's alive." Tears started to well up in Kaara's eyes, as she asked, "Where is he?" Katara pointed to a man talking with Hakoda, who had the same shade of black hair as Kaara. Kaara stumbled as she walked towards her father. The man had silver eyes and had stubble growing around his face. He appeared to be in his late forties, wrinkles starting to form on his face. Kozen laughed with Hakoda about a joke. His eyes looked at the prison, and saw Kaara. His smile disappeared, and trails of tears started to fall.

"Kaara! You're alive!" Kozen rushed to his daughter, and hugged her tightly, as he cried a waterfall of tears. "

"Yes, Dad… I thought I would never see you again," said Kaara, forgetting she was sixteen, and remembering her eleven-year-old self dragged to jail.

"_Daddy!! Mommy!" yelled Kaara, as she was put in chains. Chains bound her hands, as she was dragged across the lush yard towards the metal carriage. Kaara looked once more at her mother, the same ocean green eyes and long straight, jet black hair, who was chained to the ground. Hysterical cries came from Yoko, begging to spare her daughter's and own life. Kaara cried as she saw her father being led into another carriage, no doubt going to be punished severely. A pain occurred at the back of Kaara's head, from an annoyed soldier. Seeing her mother crying and her father leaving faded into black…._

"I can't believe we're seeing each other again. I never knew we went to the same prison, Kaara. You've grown up so much; you look like your mother," said Kozen as he broke free from the hug.

"Dad, neither did I… I wish mother was here, Dad," uttered Kaara. She then continued, looking at her father, "Dad, are you going to fight the Fire Nation?" Kaara had to make sure her father was on their side. Who wouldn't want to destroy the Fire Lord for what he had done to people?

"Of course, Kaara. Yoko was killed because of his rules," said Kozen, smiling, one last tear falling down his face. His attention was captured by something else, his eyes focused on something. "Is that Prince Zuko?"

"Huh?" Kaara looked in the direction her dad was looking at, and saw Zuko and Mai approaching Hakoda. "Yeah, it is. Dad, I need to go for a second, okay?" Her father nodded, agreeing. A small group started to form around the Prince and Hakoda. Kaara squeezed between people, saying the occasional 'Sorry' and 'Excuse Me'. Finally at the front of the crowd, Kaara listened to the conversation between Zuko and Hakoda.

"Err…. This is Mai, from the Fire Nation. She was once on Azula's side, but Mai's on our side now. Since she was a friend of Azula, Mai probably knows things that we might need on the invasion… Uh… Would it be okay if she joins the invasion?" stated Zuko, trying to be direct, but hesitating at some points in his speech. Hakoda thought for a moment, his fingers tapping against his chin. Finally, the Water Tribe chief said something.

"Of course," said Hakoda, as he shook hands with a grateful Zuko. He then shook hands with Mai, who of course who appeared unemotional.

Kaara squeezed back outside, and saw that lines of people were going towards to an immense steel door. They were going into the door, where Sokka was standing near. Out of curiosity, Kaara peered through the door. Many Fire Nations ships were in the underground harbor, being filled with Boiling Rock prisoners. 'So that's how we're going to leave…' thought Kaara, as she saw Aang sitting alone. The expression on his face was familiar to Kaara; Aang was smiling dreamily. 'Hmm… What's wrong with Aang?' She followed his line of vision and saw he was looking at Katara. "Hey Aang, how are you?" asked Kaara, plopping herself next to Aang, on the stone bench.

"Fine, thanks," mumbled Aang, still staring at Katara. He turned to face Kaara, and saw she was staring at him, a sly grin on her face. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing, really. I was just noticing… You looking at Katara, dreamily." Kaara stretched out the word 'dreamily'. Her smile was starting to spread even more along her face.

"What?! I wasn't…" replied Aang, blushing terribly. Kaara's smile was starting to make Aang feel as if he was under questioning. "Fine, I like Katara," sighed Aang, letting Kaara win the round.

"I knew it!! Hahaha!" laughed Kaara, pointing fingers at him. After getting over her laugh, Kaara asked simply, "For how long?"

Aang blushed even deeper, and answered, "As long as I've known her…" He looked at Kaara, and noticed that she was interested in what she was hearing. So he continued, "Katara's really sweet, she's pretty, and I just love Katara. I don't know why. She's always there to comfort me, and when she's around me, I feel so happy… Do you have anyone you ever really liked, Kaara?"

Taken by surprise, Kaara stammered, "N-no. Of course not!" She looked at Aang's doubting expression, and she started to fiddle with her hair. After a few minutes, Kaara blurted, "Okay, I do like someone! I really like… Really like… Zuko." Zuko was just barely heard by Aang, but it was enough to surprise him.

"You like _Zuko_?! Why?" asked Aang, his eyes open with surprise.

Kaara blushed, and responded, looking at her feet, "Well, Zuko is sweet… I met him before I went to jail, and he was really nice. Zuko's really changed over the years, but under his attitude, Zuko is still the same. Not to mention, he's tall and handsome… But he has a girlfriend now, so yeah, he can't ever love me." Kaara's expression turned from soft to hard.

"You know, she's just his girlfriend. It doesn't mean they're going to get married. You still have a chance. You just need to wait, maybe Zuko might begin to like you," suggested Aang. "But still maybe not, though it could happen."

Kaara smiled sweetly, and said, "You know, that's really good advice. Now it's my turn to help you. You should sit down with Katara one day, talk about all the things you've been through, and then, ask her what she likes about you, and why you're friends. Then you can say that you love her."

"Hmm… I might just do that before I have to fight the Fire Lord. Thanks, Kaara. I have to go now," said Aang, as he waved bye, and ran off to see Katara. Kaara grinned, then sighed.

Sokka's voice echoed, "All Boiling Rock Prisoners enter the first five ships, people who were at the invasion, go to the last three." More and more people went into the harbor, and it took a whole hour for everyone to be on the ships. Katara, Toph, Zuko, Sokka, and Aang were preparing to ride on Appa, along with Hakoda. Toph yelled, "Kaara!! Come on!! We need to go now."

Kaara smiled, happy to know she was remembered, as she jumped onto the Sky Bison's metal saddle. Appa flew up with Aang's 'Yip Yip' and went over the waters. Toph bended the rocks in the ocean away, letting the ships pass by.

"Well, that worked for once, Sokka," said Toph, grinning, as she punched him on his arm.

Kaara glared at Zuko for a minute, which confused Zuko. Zuko moved towards Kaara, and asked, "Kaara, are you okay? You're acting strangely." Kaara turned away from him, leaving Zuko even more confused. She caught eye of Aang, who was mouthing, 'Talk to him.' Sighing, Kaara turned around and looked at Zuko.

"Nothing, Zuko. But thanks for asking though," replied Kaara, looking at Zuko. He was smiling again. "Zuko, why do you like Mai?"

"Huh?" Zuko was got off guard. He hesitated but he answered, "Mai… Was a childhood friend? She's nice… Err… She's pretty?"

Kaara thought, her mind working, 'So Zuko doesn't really know why he likes Mai… Aha!! I can use that to my advantage.' "So you don't really know, Zuko? Why does she like you?"

Zuko stammered, "Uh... She had a crush on me when we were younger… Other than that… Wait, why are being so curious about my love life?" A suspicious look appeared on his face.

"Just wanted to make sure you two were okay," replied Kaara, trying to sound cool, calm and collected. "Zuko, I want to ask you something…"

"What?" asked Zuko, seeing her cheeks blushing when she asked the question. He thought, 'Why is she blushing so much? Do all girls do this? Except for Mai; Mai barely shows her expressions… I wish she could be more emotional, like Kaara… Wait, I like Mai, not Kaara… I didn't say I liked Kaara, I just meant it as an example.' Zuko shook his head slightly to get the thoughts off his mind.

"Have you ever liked another girl, besides Mai?" asked Kaara, her face beet red.

Zuko smiled gently, and said, "I did… There was this girl I met… She was the nicest girl I ever met. It was a few years ago, and she almost pushed me into the pond at the palace. But I never saw her again, and I didn't even get her name. But she was nice and really pretty. She was a year younger than me, and she had long, black hair. I wish I could meet her again one day…" What Zuko was telling Kaara was familiar… Wait it was the first time they met, when Kaara had pushed him into the pond.

'Oh my Agni, I can't believe Zuko loved me when he was younger… I have a chance!!' thought Kaara, as her face turned even more red. Trying to sound normal, Kaara said, "That's good, maybe you'll meet her again. Would you choose her over Mai?" She waited for his answer, hoping he would say yes.

Zuko looked at her, and replied, "It depends, I love Mai, but sometimes I wish she was a girl who would show her emotions." Kaara frowned a bit, but it disappeared when Appa was flying towards one of the ships. The large Sky Bison landed onto the ship, and the group got off Appa.

One man who seemed to look like he was from the Water Tribes approached Hakoda. He was explaining the route they were headed and how long it would take to get there. Apparently, even though the hidden harbor was close, the currents were slow, so it would take a day to get to the harbor, unless the waterbenders bended the water faster.

Katara grabbed Kaara's shoulder and asked, "Do you think we should go faster or take our time?"

"It gives us more time to prepare; so yes," replied Kaara. She and Katara prepared to bend the water around the ship, as Aang went to the other ship. The Swamp Water benders went to the rest of the ships. With the help of the benders, the ship was able to reach the harbor. Sokka was right; it was a vast harbor, completely surrounded by walls of rocks, besides a small hole in the wall. Aang bended the door open, big enough for the ships to get through side by side. After getting through, the ships docked in the natural harbor. Kaara walked off the ramp of the ship, grinning. She was in pretty good spirits.

Everyone started to gather some supplies that were on the ship, and built tents. Kaara dragged a large bundle of cloth across the sand, before collapsing. "Too heavy… Why do I even have to carry this?" grumbled Kaara under her breath.

"Kaara, why are you carrying all that cloth? Are you going to make a house or a tent?" joked Katara, as she put her small sheaf of cloth on the ground. The girl helped Kaara up, and pointed to a large patch of grass a few meters away. "That's where we're going to set up camp."

With Katara's help, Kaara was able to fix up her tent. Kaara said, "Katara, are we ever going to go to the Fire Nation, before the invasion? I don't mean an hour before the invasion, but a week before, for supplies and stuff."

Katara answered, fixing up the tent, "Maybe, especially if only some of us go. Like Sokka, Toph, you, me, and Aang…"

"Zuko?" asked Kaara as she sat in the entrance of her tent. Zuko was with Mai, but maybe she still could have Zuko…

"Yeah, if he's not too busy with Mai…" Katara said, as she pointed to Zuko and Mai kissing each other on the shoreline. Kaara glared, jealousy filling her once again. "But anyway, Kaara we should practice water bending. You seem a bit edgy right now," said Katara as she pointed to the small exit in the walls that led to a small pond.

"Okay, but what should I change into?" Kaara asked, as she emptied her water skin bag, and washed her face.

"Your under clothes, since they're made of bandages," replied Katara, as she started to paced towards the arch. Kaara followed shortly after. The pond was only a few yards away, and it was about waist deep. Katara slipped off her tunic and waded into the water.

Kaara took off her dress and pants, and sat on the edge of the pond, her feet dangling in the water. "So what should we practice?" asked Katara, as she bended some water from the pond.

"Katara, I want to do something else. Something not done in Waterbending." Kaara said, as she jumped into the water. The water splashed onto the grass.

"Kaara, what do you mean?" asked Katara. She walked towards Kaara and bended some water towards her.

Kaara caught the water between her hands, and bended it back. "Well, I want to learn techniques in Waterbending, that no waterbender has ever done." The water continued to be passed around between the two girls.

"Okay. But how are we going to make new techniques? Waterbending probably hasn't changed in a hundred years. It could take a life time to make create a new Waterbending form," explained Katara, watching the water circle around them.

"So we start now. Maybe we could borrow some bending forms… From airbending. They're pretty much the same, right? Defensive, flowing, and not opposites." Kaara grunted when she dropped the water into the pond.

Katara bended more water up. After a few minutes of circling the water, Katara pointed out, "Kaara look! When you bend the water, it's not like mine! Yours is more… more… Like a liquid fire, that's strange…" Kaara held the water between her hands, and noticed the same thing. Instead of the water being smooth, the water had edges like a fire. The edges tapered out, like flames. "Kaara, sometimes the way you bend, is caused by your feelings… Something tells me that you're not okay."

Kaara ignored what Katara said, and asked, "Katara, can we try to use other techniques?" Katara nodded, trying not to look disappointed with Kaara's attempt to ignore her question.

"So Air, right?" asked Katara, as she walked out of the water, onto the crisp grass.

"Yeah."

"Okay, so Kaara, let's try something easy, so we can get the hang of-" Katara was cut off, when Kaara zipped by, riding on the water version of Aang's air scooter. The water sphere was starting to shrink, until she rode through the pond. Apparently, the water scooter would lose water, as the person rode it on dry land. However, it would absorb water while riding on any water body. "Kaara, watch out! There's a rock!!" yelled Katara, but she was too late. Kaara smashed into the builder, and fell on her back.

"Wow… That was fun! Let's do that again!" said Kaara, after getting up. Before she could create another water scooter, Katara gripped Kaara's shoulder.

"I think that's enough water bending for today, Kaara," said Katara.

Kaara bowed to her teacher, and picked up her clothes, then ran off towards her tent. After changing, Kaara sat on a rock, watching everyone. 'Why did Katara want to stop practicing? I wonder why…' She blushed when she saw Zuko shirtless. He and Aang were practicing Firebending. Firebending was something she could connect with, more than Waterbending. Waterbending may have been Kaara's bending element, but she felt more at home with Firebending. From what Katara told her, the Water Tribes were cold and mostly made of ice. That disappointed Kaara; she expected a much warmer climate. Her eyes were glued to Zuko; he attracted her. Even when she was little, she had always dreamed of marrying of marrying the Fire Nation prince. The first time they had met, Kaara thought Zuko was adorable. Now after all these years, Zuko had changed. He's banishment, the war, and everything else affected him badly. But still, Zuko still had his dorky moments. Kaara giggled when she saw him fall on his face, into the grass. Zuko's changed physically, too, his shoulders had broadened and he had gained muscles. The only problem was… Well, Zuko already had a girlfriend. Kaara grimaced when she saw Mai laugh at Zuko, as he smiled at his girlfriend. 'Oh well… Hmm? What's that?' Kaara thought, as she spotted something half buried in the sand.

Curiosity overcame her, so she ran towards the object.

**AN: **One of the longest chapters I've ever written. Kaara is obsessed with Zuko and Mai in this chapter.


	8. Let Go

**Burning Ice Part 2**

**Ch 8: Let Go**

Kaara saw that it was a thin pole made out of hard wood stuck in the sand. She dug in the sand and saw that a red fabric was attached to the end. Kaara bended water from the sea and slashed the part where the cloth was attached. Carrying the part of the pole and fabric, Kaara started to head back to camp. A bulky stone was in the sand in front of her. Before taking a few steps, she tripped over it. "Ow!" shouted Kaara, as she touched her very sore toes. Noticing the fabric unfurling, Kaara was about to roll it back up. She gasped when she saw the insignia of the Fire Nation. "What?! The Fire Nation… They must have been here recently!!" In the sand around her were foot prints of boots, which she previously thought were created by the prisoners. Now she realized that they were created by Fire Nation. Running as fast as she could, Kaara ran to camp. Before she could talk to Sokka or Aang, she rammed into Zuko.

Zuko yelled angrily, "Watch where you're going next time!" He stood up, and brushed himself off. Clearly shown on his face, Zuko was annoyed.

Panting as she spoke, Kaara replied, "I found this…" She held up the flag between her hands. A surprised expression came upon Zuko's face.

"This is only a few days old…" said Zuko, and then inspected the flag closely. He murmured, "Azula's been here, just before us… She knows where we are."

Kaara asked, "What!? If Azula was here just right before us… That means she's only a few hours away… Wait… How did you know it's her?"

Zuko pointed to a tiny shape right below the Fire Nation symbol; a Phoenix. "Here; Azula puts this symbol on practically everything she owns. We need to show this to the Avatar."

Kaara nodded, and rolled the flag up. They headed towards Aang's tent, and instead of going in to tell Aang about the flag, they stopped. Katara and Aang were speaking inside of it. "Aang, I just don't understand. It kinda upsets me. Kaara… Is just learning Water bending too fast. It's as if she's… I dunno… A prodigy. And… She can create an Air Scooter, Aang," said Katara. Her voice sounded confused and worried. Kaara thought, 'Why is Katara so worried about me being a fast learner?' She turned to Zuko, and saw his face was impressed. He thought, 'Kaara can make the strange ball of air like Aang? That's impossible!"

Aang replied, "What? She can bend air?!" He was apparently excited by the fact he wasn't the only Air bender in the world.

"No, Aang. Not that way. She can do it with water…" said Katara.

"Oh…" Aang muttered, disappointed. He continued, "Katara, why are you so worried about this? It's not like Kaara is going to have some super bending that can let her take over the world." Katara didn't respond, but Aang murmured, "Katara, Kaara probably won't. Even if she could Bloodbend everybody 

any time she wanted, Kaara wouldn't do anything." Kaara and Zuko looked at each other; Kaara could Bloodbend, but she did it only because she was possessed. Anyway, I did learn Water bending fast, and did I get any special powers in Water bending? No. So that's it."

"Okay, Aang… I just don't know why I feel this way… I guess it's just my instincts… But… I still do feel Kaara's bending is… Advanced. Bye, Aang," replied Katara. Zuko and Kaara walked a few paces backwards, before Katara went out the tent. They started to walk forward, and Kaara waved at Katara.

Zuko opened Aang's tent opening, and said, stiffly, "Aang, we need to talk." The young Airbender nodded, and Zuko went in, Kaara following shortly behind. "Kaara found something that should be taken seriously."

Pulling out the map, Kaara said, "I found this in beach… I also found some foot prints around it. Zuko knows that it's Azula's flag, and it's only a few days old, since it's not very rugged or anything like that." She didn't look at Aang's eyes at all throughout her explanation.

Zuko then continued to their theory, "We both think that Azula's been here just right before us. For some odd reason, Azula knows that we were going here."

Aang looked to the side, before saying, "Well… It could be true. But I doubt it. Maybe one of the prisoners ripped a flag off of one of the ships, and buried it or something. I don't really know…"

Zuko exclaimed, "Aang! This is serious! This is Azula's symbol!!" He grabbed the flag from Kaara, and jabbed at the phoenix. "Even if Azula didn't know about us coming here, but knew where this was, it would still be a problem! She could pop up at any time with a couple of ships, and we could be overtaken!" Kaara looked at Zuko, before looking back at her feet.

Aang inquired, "Are you're saying…?" Solemnly, Zuko nodded, before Aang continued, "So you're saying that we should leave? But where, Zuko?"

Zuko's expression changed; he was a bit surprised. Kaara then suggested, "The Fire Nation, maybe? We could… Like, split up in groups."

"Yeah, Kaara, we could have all of the adults in one group and the group will be in another. The adults would be split in smaller groups. Then a day before the attack, we all meet in one place," declared Aang, "That's perfect!! I'll tell the others!" He dashed out of the tent, and disappeared from Kaara's view.

Kaara smiled feebly, and muttered, "Zuko… Why do you think Katara thinks I would use waterbending to… I don't know… Do bad things? I'm not evil or anything…" She put her head on her knees, sighing.

Putting his hand on her nearest shoulder softly, Zuko assured, "From what I see, Katara trusts you; the problem is, that you're Fire Nation. Since she lost her mother to the Fire Nation and because of the war, Katara probably automatically thinks you're power hungry or something like that…" Sighing, Zuko exchanged stares with Kaara, before continuing, "Kaara, Katara is your friend, but she has a grudge she has to get over."

Kaara thought, 'Why is Zuko trying to help me and my problems? It's not like he likes me… He could you know! Maybe… But he still loves Mai, so he can't… Come on, you're pretty and you have a personality, Zuko could fall in love with you! Why am I talking to myself again?! Stop trying to change the subject! Fine, it could happen.' She blushed softly, and said, "Thanks Zuko; you're a sweet guy." She noticed his face flush red. They look intently at each other for a few moments, before Kaara's face turned red. She pulled a strand of hair out of her face, and behind her ear. "Um… Zuko… Thanks again… I gotta go," she said, getting up, and preparing to exit Aang's tent. Before leaving, she looked at Zuko's face again, and then left.

Dumbfounded, Zuko put his hand on his cheek. Under his hand, he felt his face was warm. Still blushing, Zuko murmured, "This is crazy… I can't love Kaara… It's Mai who I love…" Hitting his hand repeatedly against his forehead, Zuko thought, 'This is dumb! Why should I love Kaara? She's too happy for me, plus she's irritating! But then again, why do I love Mai? Mai's too… unemotional… What am I even saying?" Rubbing his forehead, Zuko walked out of the tent. He noticed that everyone was gathered around Aang, who was telling them about the plan. Kaara saw Zuko, and with her hands, she tried to tell him to come over. Pretending to ignore her, Zuko walked towards the beach.

To his surprise, Mai was standing, as if she was waiting for him. Hearing his footsteps, Mai turned around, smiling slightly. "Zuko, you're here. I found something I want to show you." She pointed to a narrow cliff. Squinting, Zuko saw a small cave underneath the cliff. When opened his eyes completely, he saw that Mai was already walking towards the cave. After running to catch up with her, Zuko panted heavily. They barely spoke, until they finally reached the small cave. Mai said, "Zuko, let's go in."

Kaara separated from the crowd, when she saw Zuko ignore her. Trying to be as quiet as possible, Kaara watched Zuko and Kaara carefully. Watching them go into the cave, Kaara frowned. Her face lit up when she saw the cliff.Kaara stepped quietly onto the level cliff, and listened to Zuko and Mai below her. Zuko said, "Mai… I can't believe that you gave up everything to come with me."

Mai replied, her voice practically emotionless, with a hint of happiness, "Of course, Zuko. I told Azula what I was doing… She was about to kill me… But Ty Lee… She stopped Azula… I hope Ty Lee's fine…" She smiled, and leaned in to kiss Zuko. "Zuko… Do you love me? Do you love only me?"

Zuko hesitated before answering. Thoughts rushing into his head, Zuko thought, "How do I really know? For some reason… I can't tell who I love... I can't tell Mai 'I don't know', she'd kill me… I'll have to lie.' "Yes, Mai. I do. I love only you, and I will love you only." The space between their lips lessened, finally drawing into a kiss.

Shaking uncontrollably, Kaara tried not to cry. The pain in her heart made the pain she felt when she first saw Mai and Zuko kiss a simple scratch. Now, the pain was more like being burned from the inside. Tears slowly rolled off her cheeks, as she started sobbing.

"Zuko, do you hear anything?" Mai asked, as she pulled back from the kiss. The sobbing was loud enough, that Mai and Zuko could hear her faintly.

Shaking his head, Zuko replied, "No, why?" He knew he heard it, but he still lied. 'It's Kaara of course… But why is she crying? I'll try to find out…' "Err, Mai, I need to go. I'm sorry," mumbled Zuko, and then leaving before Mai could say anything. An impulse urged him to run, so he did. While he ran back to camp, he kept thinking, 'What's wrong with me? Do I really love Kaara or do I love Mai?' Letting his breath come out as a sigh, he tried to remember the little girl who comforted him. Running at a slower pace, the Fire Prince remembered everything… Her smile, her cheeriness, and every word she said… One thing that Zuko could never forget, where those sea green eyes, he had met no one with the same eyes, except for Kaara. A small smile crawled onto his face, as he stared at the ocean. As he smelled the salt air, he realized something he should have known a day ago. "It's Kaara!" exclaimed Zuko, surprised.

Kaara kicked the rocks that were along the way to camp. Kicking a rather large boulder over and over, Kaara thought angrily, 'No, no, no, NO! I shouldn't have let myself fall in love! I swear I won't care about him ever again!!'

"Well, well. So you were the one who was listening," Mai's voice interrupted Kaara's furious kicks. Turning around, Kaara's face had a shocked expression. Before she could deny it, Mai yawned, "I'm not dense, you know," her eyes flashed in Kaara's direction, "I know you love him, Kaara."

Glaring intensely at Mai, Kaara retorted, "Fine you know, but what do want?" Crossing her arms, Kaara sat against the boulder she was previously kicking.

"Simple." Before she saw anything, Kaara felt Mai push her against the boulder by her shoulders. Mai hissed, "You leave Zuko alone. He's mine, and he loves me; only me. He would _never _love you." Smirking, Mai let go of Kaara's shoulder and walked off.

Filled with jealousy and hate, Kaara got water from her full water bag. She sent the water straight at Mai. As in her previous waterbending training, the water was fire like, but even more so this time. Just a few seconds ahead, Mai jumped to the side, throwing daggers at Kaara. One just barely missed her flesh; all the rest pinned her against the stone. "Don't _ever_ try to do that again," whispered Mai icily, before she continued to walk. Kaara tried to pull the knives out of her dress and arm bandage with her left free arm, but she was unsuccessful. Saying improper words under her breath, Kaara bended the water from her attack into ice. She raised the large pieces of ice and made them slam against the knives until they fell loose. Leaning against the rock, Kaara looked up at the sky, slamming the back of her head against the rock repeatedly in rhythm. Sighing, she decided to go talk to Aang. Looking down at the ground, she barely noticed her surroundings.

Zuko saw Kaara as he came back to the campsite. Blushing, Zuko realized Kaara hadn't changed much from her younger self. Certainly she had 'grown' in certain aspects, but her personality was still optimistic, despite the last few years. He didn't know why, but he felt himself drift away from Mai, and towards Kaara. Only there were two problems; one, he would break Mai's heart, second, he wasn't sure Kaara loved him at all…

Suki asked, "I'm going to travel with you guys, right?" Sokka's arm was around her shoulders, as she asked.

Aang scratched the back of his head, and answered cheerily, "Of course you're coming to the Fire Nation with us!" Katara smiled and noticed Kaara walking slowly towards them. Kaara looked up, and glared at Katara with her hatred of Mai.

"Aang, I'll be back. Something's wrong…" said Katara, following Kaara. "Kaara, what's wrong?" Obviously ignoring her, Kaara continued to walk. "Please, Kaara, tell me…"

Not speaking directly to Katara, Kaara said exaggeratedly, "Oh, when I first met everyone here… I was so happy; I thought I finally would have friends. But two weeks later, everything started to fall… The guy I like is making out happily with an idiot, when I clearly showed interest… But nooo…. He would rather prefer her. Next, I find out my two friends are talking about me behind my back! One thinks I'll be a psychotic person; the other is trying to convince the first about my bending. I'll forgive the second, but not the first… After that I go find out he said to the idiot, 'I'll love you only for the rest of my dumb life', and start sobbing. Next, I get attacked by that girl!! Yes! Life here is perfect! Way better than being a person stuck in a rusting cell for almost half of my life, knowing my mom's dead and that my dad is somewhere else, and using my own blood to escape!! Nothing is more perfect than my life!" Taking a deep breath, Kaara closed her eyes, and turned around to face Katara. Her eyes were practically pinkish from all her crying.

Showing humiliation on her face, Katara apologized, "I'm sorry, Kaara… I didn't know it would hurt you so much…" Kaara turned around again, letting out a grunt. Continuing, Katara started to approach her, "I just wasn't sure if you were going to become evil at some point in life… I really knew you wouldn't, but I'm just so used to people gaining my trust… Then just changing immediately the next second." Placing a hand on Kaara's shoulder, Katara asked, "Kaara… It's Zuko, isn't it?" Sniveling, Kaara nodded. "You should let go, Kaara. We're at war; it's not time to think about anyone right now…" Kaara stiffened, turning her head away from Katara. Frowning, Katara said, "I know Zuko must have hurt you… He probably didn't know anything about your liking of him… Kinda like Aang."

Finally speaking, Kaara answered, "Yeah… Wait… Aang!?" The last word was pronounced with surprise. Katara said, blushing slightly, "Yes, Aang." Beaming brightly, Kaara giggled, "Aang? Ha! You two have more in common than you know!" Slightly confused, Katara asked, "What do you mean?" Kaara didn't answer; all she did was smile. "So I guess that means we're friends again?" asked Katara, and when Kaara nodded, they gave each other a hug.

Kaara pulled down her tent; everyone was prepared to split up. She looked for her father to say goodbye after packing the tent and everything she had, hastily. "Dad! Dad!" yelled Kaara, as she walked around the crowded area. Finally hearing a 'Kaara', she ran towards the source. Her father was standing near the beach, waiting for the ships to be prepared to deport. "Hi Dad," said Kaara, smiling feebly. "What are you doing?" she asked, her tone of voice was similar to a ten year old's.

Gazing at the sea with a glazy stare, her father answered, "I'm just remembering your mother. Whenever we went to the vacation house in Ember Island, she would just stare at the sea at night. 

Sometimes I thought she was longing to go back to the Water Tribe… But whenever I asked that, she would always answer, 'No, I'm passed that now. I've let go of it years ago.' I knew she meant it partially, but I knew that deep inside she wished she would go…" Kaara looked at the now setting sun, and said, "So we're not going to see each other for a while now, right?" Simply, her father said, "No, but it's only going to be for a while. We're going to see each other at some place called Chameleon bay or something similar to that…" A small smile flickered on his face for a moment, as Kozen continued, "Then we'll defeat Ozai, and I'll finally be at peace… I have to go now, Kaara." He hugged her before he boarded the ship.

Kaara a strong gust of air, as Appa landed behind her. She climbed up the furry beast, and they were off. When she saw who was sitting opposite her, she moved to the front of the saddle. Zuko frowned, and thought, 'I wonder what's wrong with her…'

Toph said, "You know, Sokka. You were smart for adding this metal saddle to Appa." She had apparently enjoyed finally being able to 'see' clearly when flying on Appa; unlike the times they used a wooden saddle to ride Appa.

Grinning, Sokka said, "Thank you, Toph. That surely proves I have the brains of the bunch." Suki remarked, "You also certainly showed you have a strong feminine side on Kyoshi Island. I recall that you wore…What was it? Wait, I know, it was a dress!" Everyone laughed, except, of course, Mai. Kaara ceased laughing when she noticed Mai was staring at her, as if trying to burn a hole.

Mai leaned her head against Zuko, and said, "Zuko, why are you laughing so much? It's nauseating." Zuko stopped laughing and shrugged, and said, "Well, Mai, some things just make me laugh. What's wrong with that?" Rolling her eyes, Mai replied, "Like I said; it's nauseating. I'm going to sleep…" Moving away from him, she leaned against the back left corner of the saddle, falling asleep. Frowning, Zuko closed his eyes to fake sleeping, but kept his right eye slightly open to watch everyone, especially Kaara. 'Why did I like Mai, again?' thought Zuko, as he yawned.

Kaara asked, when she noticed Aang's eyes getting droopy, "Aang, does Appa know the way to the Fire Nation? Cause if you fall asleep, Appa could take us somewhere else…" "No… Not the way we're going… You know the way, right?" asked Aang, rubbing his eyes. "Pretty much," answered Kaara, as she watched the waves speed by below them. Yawning, Aang requested politely, "Could you take over flying Appa?" Seeing Kaara's face light up, he climbed up from Appa's head, and into the front of the saddle.

Settling in comfortably in the rider's seat, Kaara asked, as she took hold of the reins, "How to I show him where to go? And how do I fly?" Aang instructed, "You pull the reins really far back and hard to make Appa stop and fly down. Then you tell him 'Yip yip' to go faster and higher. To go left, you kinda pull the reins gently towards the left, and same to go right, except you pull it to the right. And that's pretty much it. Oh and when we start flying above land, try to stay in the clouds." Feeling a bit better about flying, Kaara said, "Thanks, Aang. I'll try to stay up all night." Flying across the ocean made Kaara happy and minuscule at the same time. It's amazing how sometimes some people are so powerful but yet so tiny against something so vast. After flying for a few hours, she noticed a tiny island in the middle of the water. "That's weird… There shouldn't be any land for an hour or so… I swear it looks like its 

moving," whispered Kaara to herself. When she turned her head around to look at the island, she saw no sign of it. Finally feeling a bit tired, Kaara was awoken by the sight of land. There were no clouds in sight, which couldn't cover up the giant Sky Bison. Pulling out her water skin bag, she used the remaining amount of water to create an average sized cloud around them. Leaning against Appa's back, Kaara watched the stars for a minute. Like the ocean, it made her feel so small, but this made her feel even smaller. The stars twinkled merrily, and the moon was glowing brightly that night.

Zuko was awake for most of the time; he had slept for only an hour before waking up. Seeing that Kaara was at Appa's head and sleeping, he decided to take up the job of flying Appa. Just before he could take the reins from her, he realized Kaara was awake. She shot up, and asked angrily, "What are you doing here, Zuko?"

"N-nothing… I was just… uh… going to take the reins," stammered Zuko, surprised by her anger. "I just thought you were asleep, and I just wanted to help." 'Kaara's really angry… It's not like her.'

Tilting her head up in a snooty manner, Kaara said, "Humph! I don't need help! I was looking at the sky. Now go!" Zuko backed away, and felt his leg twist in the thick rope of the reins. The next second he felt himself fall from the bison. Immediately, Kaara bended water from the air, and used it to cover her arms; she knew it was too far for Appa to fly quickly enough. Zuko fell in the air; he was scared, but he felt at peace as he fell. He saw Kaara's frightened face, and looked down at the ground; it was rocky, nothing soft to break his fall. Calculating how fast Zuko was falling and where, Kaara let the water from her arms turn into long tentacles. She grabbed Zuko around his waist about a hundred sixty feet above the ground with her water tentacles. Letting the water pull him back up, Kaara was panting hard. Once he landed onto Appa's head, Kaara hugged him. Surprised, Zuko snuggled deeper into her hug, which she barely noticed. Pulling away, Zuko saw that she had a tear rolling down her cheek. "Why are you crying?" Zuko asked, as he looked directly at her.

"Well Zuko, why don't you have someone you love fall from a three hundred to two hundred feet." Kaara stopped, blushing red. Equally, Zuko's face was the same colored. Trying to cover up her mistakes, Kaara hastily corrected, "I mean, I love you as a friend. Not that way, 'cause you know, you kinda have a girlfriend and I um… Well you get the idea." 'What in the world is wrong with me!! I just said to Zuko that I love him! Well at least I said I loved him as a friend! He's not dumb you know; unlike you… Why are you calling me stupid? Cause you are, duh! We're the same person, which means that you're calling yourself stupid. Ugh, forget it,' thought Kaara as she tried to hide her extremely red face.

Zuko smiled, and replied, "I understand that… I mean if you fell… I would…" He stopped talking. 'I can't say 'I would die'! That would mean, 'I can't live without you, because I love you'! I wish I would think before I talk! Uncle's right… I never think things through…' "I would cry, too. I need somebody to talk to once in a while, who can relate to me. I'm going back to bed…" Going back the back of the metal saddle, Zuko looked at Kaara for a moment before going to sleep.

Holding the reins tightly in her hands, Kaara watched the sun rise up. The sunlight spread over the Fire Nation. From far above, it looked so peaceful, but Kaara knew better; the world was so affected by war. Katara yawned, and woke up, seeing that Kaara was up. "You know, we can land now. We need to stay 

in the country side most of the time." Nodding Kaara pulled the reins tightly back, and felt something churn in her empty stomach as they approached Ember Island. Looking for an isolated place they could hide, she spotted a standard sized vacation house near the royal vacation house. This area was isolated from the usual busy part of that island. Appa flew down, and landed into the courtyard in the middle of the elaborate house. Katara asked, "Where are we? I realized the other building was something that belonged to the Fire Lord, but what is this one?"

"This used to belong to my family. My dad has two, but this is the one we spent in the most. It's kinda small, but it'll be big enough for us. The other is in the city area of Ember Island. My dad was really close to Ozai, so Ozai let him build a vacation house here, as long it wasn't as big or fancy as his," informed Kaara, as she slid off Appa's head. "If you want, you can see the house with me." Katara nodded, smiling widely. Before they left, the two waterbenders filled their water skin bags with water from the courtyard fountain. Trying to open the door, Kaara saw that it was too rust to open now. Using the heel of her foot, she smashed the door open. When she looked inside, Kaara smiled; it almost looked exactly like she had remembered, except for the two inch layer of dust.

Katara asked, as she pointed to a painting, "Is this your family?" Kaara looked at the painting, and bit her lip. She nodded, and looked at her mother. Katara observed, "Your mother looks a lot like you. I think I've seen her before… I don't know why, but I think I've met her."

"What do you mean? Plus… I don't look anything like her…" said Kaara, as she continued to look at the painting. What she was she was saying was untrue, she looked like the spitting image of her mother. Both of them had the same eyes, and had long hair. Their faces were similar, and Kaara was starting to have the same figure as her mother. The only difference was that Kaara had inherited her father's dark brown hair, personality, and wide grins.

"I dunno… She looks a lot like one of the ladies I used to see in the Southern Water tribe… But then that lady suddenly disappeared," replied Katara.

"Let's go look at the other rooms," said Kaara, as she moved a step towards one of the halls.Katara nodded, and then she followed Kaara down the right hall. "Kaara, why is so cold in here? It's summer…" said Katara, as she saw her breath, as if she was in the Water Tribe. Kaara shrugged, and opened one of the doors. The real cause of the cold was Kaara; sadness had overcome her, letting her waterbending freeze the humid air inside the building. The door swung easily open, surprising Kaara; she had expected the door knob to be rusted. Inside, it looked as if someone had just left it after waking up. It was not as dusty as the rest of the building.

"Katara, this was my parents' room…" said Kaara, as she opened one of the drawers of a desk besides the elegant bed. Inside was a small box. Shaking, Kaara opened it. It was a beautiful choker made of satin. It was similar to Katara's except it didn't have an ornament attached.

Katara noticed a letter fall out when Kaara pulled the choker out. She picked up the yellowed letter, and began to read it. After finishing the letter she said, "Kaara… Your mother said that it's for your engagement choker, you know when you get engaged…"

Kaara held the choker in her hands, and tried not to get any tears on it. Tying it around her neck, Kaara felt the dark blue satin. Sighing, Kaara uttered, "It's not like I'll get engaged anyway…" Passing the letter to Kaara, Katara said, "Don't say that…" Reading the old letter, Kaara started to read, '_Dear Kaara, this is a letter for your much older self. Well, you know of course about the engagement necklace your father gave me before he married me. If you ever marry a man who understands your cultural background; ask him to make you the gemstone for your choker. I understand if you can't, but it would make me proud to see my culture continued in a way, even if it's small… Well, Kaara, I love you, and so does your father. Love, Yoko'._ By the end of the letter, Kaara had released the breath she held during the whole reading.

Katara said quietly, "Your mother loved you a lot…" After a minute, Katara suddenly burst out, surprised, "I do know your mother! Yoko was one of my mother's best friends! No wonder I remember her. I remember my mother crying because she thought Yoko was dead… I can't believe your mother was actually the wife of a Fire Nation general, and a waterbender… If I knew, I would have asked her..."

"I can't believe that you knew my mom," said Kaara. "We should go see the rest of the rooms…" The two went off to venture the rest of the house.

Opening one of his golden eyes, Zuko yawned. His eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight in the morning. 'Are we still flying?' wondered Zuko, as he stood up. He felt himself panic, when he saw they were in a courtyard in an abandoned house, and that Katara and Kaara were missing. Landing onto the dusty cobblestones, he ran into the building. Searching for any sign or sound that might tell him if someone was in the house, Zuko started to look into the room. Room after room, he couldn't find anything. Finally, he heard some type of giggling. It was coming from a back room. Slowly, he surrounding his hand with fire, and opened the door. Before he could release a fire blast, he saw Kaara and Katara giggling over some scroll. "Um… Hello?" spoke Zuko, perplexed.

Grinning wildly, Kaara announced, "Well, Zuko!! From your secret diary, I can see that you specifically enjoyed watching a girl's drama, called, 'Lady's Diary'." Katara laughed, "'My favorite line was, 'Oh no, we cannot let them eat the dragon whiskers'. That has to be the worst thing I've ever heard!" Both of their heads were tilted back in laughter.

Growling, Zuko snatched it from their hands, and demanded, "Where did you find it?!" Trying to stop laughing, Kaara replied, "You gave it to my father for a reason, and he left it in one of the closets! And Katara and I found it!" Yelling something about idiotic people, Zuko stormed out of the house.

Looking at each other mischievously, Katara and Kaara grinned like a pair of imps. Katara said, "Zuko doesn't realize that I switched the diary with a blank scroll that just says, 'We still have it'." They continued their laughing.

--

I just can't believe Zuko has a secret diary, even though I just made it up :O Anyways, this chapter was written while listening to Let Go by Frou Frou, hence the chapter name, and drinking lots and lots of coke. If you're complaining about Zuko falling in love with Kaara too quickly, thats why it's called... FALLING IN LOVE.

And thank you Odi and AvatarAiris; it's nice to know people read this story :)


	9. Major Secret

**Chapter 9: Major Secrets**

Katara and Kaara went back to the courtyard, and saw everyone was awake. Sokka said, "You should change into your Fire Nation clothes! We're going out!" Groaning, Kaara said, "I don't have any Fire Nation clothes that can fit me… And I'm not going to wear my mother's clothes either; they look like tents." Before Katara could say anything, Sokka pointed a finger at Kaara's face, and said, "I said get you're Fire Nation clothes! I bet you have like tons of them!"

Her face had a bored expression on it, as she informed, "All of them are too small." Rubbing his chin, Sokka suggested, "Maybe you could wear Zuko's coat, then you can go to town and get some clothes." Shrugging, Kaara nodded.

Walking up to Zuko was easy; he was just standing against Appa, practically falling asleep. "Um, Zuko?" said Kaara rather loudly, making Zuko jump up. "What?" he replied with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Could I borrow your coat? I need it to get some clothes in town. And since what I'm wearing right now is blue, I kinda stand out." When she looked at him, she saw he was asleep, snoring faintly too. Rolling her eyes, Kaara took a little water from her bag, and transformed it into ice. She placed it on Zuko's forehead, and he, of course, woke up. He grabbed his coat and handed it to her, "There you go!! Happy?"

"No, not really," answered Kaara, as she slid the coat on, "It's about… Ten sizes too big." Rubbing his forehead, Zuko said, "I'll come with you to town… So I can check if you won't drool or anything on my coat; it's made from the finest silk in the Fire Nation."

The two walked slowly to town, and spoke the whole way; mostly about what not to put onto the robe, like sauces and blood. Arriving at town was not easy; it was jam-packed. Even though it was early in the morning, hordes of people crowded the streets. Kaara asked, "Zuko, is it supposed to be this crowded?" Nodding his head, Zuko replied, "Yeah pretty much. Hey, look, there's a clothing store there." Beaming brightly, Kaara dragged Zuko into the store. Getting as many clothes as she could get from the shelves, she ran into the dressing rooms.

Leaning against the busy store's wall, Zuko sighed. He watched an old lady shuffle by him. The elderly women asked sweetly, "Is that lady who just ran in here, your wife?"

"No! Of course not! She's just a friend! I can't even imagine being married to her!" exclaimed Zuko, as he recoiled, as if he was bitten by something. Skeptical, the elderly lady shuffled out.

Finally completely changed, Kaara walked out of the dressing room. Dressed in Fire Nation garb, she had hidden her old clothes by wrapping them in Zuko's coat. Trying to hide his blushes, Zuko looked at Kaara's clothing. She was wearing her hair completely down; no hair loopies or buns or anything like that. Her shirt was sleeveless, and it went up to her neck. It was completely red, except for a few gold edges. The shirt went down to her knees. Her pants were brown, loose and covered her boots. There were no bandages in sight anywhere. It fitted her form rather nicely. "So, how do I look, Zuko?" She asked, smirking.

"Fine... I guess," said Zuko, trying to stop blushing. Kaara payed for her clothes and walked out with Zuko. He noticed something dark blue that just was about her shirts neckline. It was the fabric similar to Katara's necklace. He thought, 'A Water Tribe engagement choker! Is she engaged?' Noticing her stare at something in the distance, he asked, "What are you looking at?"

Feeling her stomach growl, Kaara stated, "Food! Let's go eat!" Once again, Kaara practically dragged Zuko to the crowded food stall. She ordered two marinated lizard meat on sticks. When they got their order, Kaara started to nibble on the meat, and sighed, "I missed this type of food!! Prison food definitely is horrible compared to this." Rolling his eyes, Zuko barely ate his.

After they had finished their quick meal, Kaara and Zuko headed back to her vacation house. Zuko said, "Kaara... I never knew you stayed at this house on Ember Island just next to mine. I knew your father, but I didn't know you were there."

"Oh yeah, cause when ever we came here, my mom and I would practice waterbending all the time. We didn't stay in the house much," informed Kaara, as she pushed the heavy door open. Toph yelled, "Guys, they're here," before anyone noticed. Every one was already in their Fire Nation garb. Katara said, "I can see that you found your new clothes." Zuko wandered off to find Mai, leaving the two girls alone. Tilting her shoulder towards Suki, Katara continued, "By the way, I should introduce you to Suki." Kaara smiled, and said, "Sure!" Suki walked towards them, and said, "Hi Kaara, it's nice to meet you." They shook hands, before Kaara replied, "Same here. I heard you're some type of warrior?"

Nodding proudly, Suki said, "Yeah, I'm a Kyoshi Warrior, from the Kyoshi Islands. Katara told me about you're past. It's good that you found your father." They went off to talk about themselves.

Zuko approached Sokka, and asked, "Sokka, have you seen Mai?" Rubbing his chin, and looking up thoughtfully, Sokka informed, "I think I saw her go into the house. Other than that, I don't really know." Nodding, Zuko went off, and opened the door. It was musty inside, so it made it a bit hard for him to breathe. "Mai! Mai!" shouted Zuko, as he went through the rooms. None of them had Mai inside, so he finally gave up. At the end of one of the halls, he noticed a door that he didn't see before. It was a bit smaller than the other doors, but it had a golden plaque on it. It was too dusty to read, so Zuko brushed some of the dust off. Underneath all the dust, was 'Kaara'. Creaking, the door opened slightly. Opening the whole way, the door slammed against the wall. Zuko looked around; it was a small room, which apparently belonged to a much younger Kaara. Instead of being the usual dark reds, the walls were pale lavender. A few rough drafts of clothing designs were attached to the wall with pins, and a few dolls were scattered on the floor. Before taking a few steps, Zuko felt something under his foot; a scroll. He bent down to pick it up, and saw that it was a diary. Smirking, Zuko thought, 'Yes! Revenge for looking at my diary! Wait, what's this?' Upon closer expectation, he saw a child's drawings of some type of bending formation on the scroll's outside. It was a mixture of Fire and basic Waterbending forms. Unrolling it completely, Zuko saw that on one side, it was completely devoted to bending formations, on the other, her diary. 'I guess Kaara wanted to learn more in bending, so she decided to mix forms up...' Starting to read her diary, Zuko settled onto her bed, which was rather small. Her writing was rather shaky and messy, but it didn't take long before he could decipher it.

_'I can't believe I met Prince Zuko a few days ago... He was sweet... But kinda... Um... A bit emotional...'_

Frowning, Zuko continued reading;

_'But I did get to know him a bit... I couldn't believe he lost his mom... I guess I would feel the same... I wish he could find his mom one day. I don't think she's dead at all, like what everyone else says... It must be really sad to be the Fire Lord's son, heir to the throne, and Azula's brother, and don't forget losing your mom. Azula's really mean to him... She told me to push him in, and I kinda did... Not really though...'_

Zuko smiled, and thought, 'Kaara loves using periods in her sentences.'

'Not much to say... But... I won't ever, ever, ever tell this to anyone, and I hope, hope, hope nobody will see this diary... Especially Zuko... But... I have a major secret...' Zuko read the end of the page, and gasped, "What!!"

--

Short, I know, but I'll update soon, with a, hopefully, longer chapter. Pretty much predictable about what's going to happen...

Anyway, I haven't written this in a while so;

ATLA/Characters: Not mine

Kaara: Is mine

Ooh, and thank you everyone for commenting!

EDIT: I just put this on Word, since I wrote it here, and noticed at least five words spelled wrong... So I changed it.


	10. Fights

**Chapter 10: Fights**

Zuko had only read up to the word 'I' before the rest was suddenly ripped out. He exclaimed, "What?!" Looking, up Zuko jumped up.

Kaara glared angrily at Zuko; she had just ripped out the last end of the sentence with ice shards. "What are you doing in MY room, reading MY diary, on MY bed?" she demanded angrily, arms crossed.

"Well, you see… I was just looking for Mai… Then I went here… Then found your diary…" Zuko tried to explain, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh let me guess, it jumped into your hands, and unrolled!" said Kaara, angrily. She was showing a side of her that she revealed to anybody who decided to touch her possessions.

"Kaara, I'm sorry… I didn't know…" Zuko looked down at his feet, and then continued, "Anyway, why did you have to rip out the last sentence? It's not like your secret is that major, that you had to rip that out!"

Stomping towards him, Kaara glared angrily, as she jabbed a finger at him. "I have my rights, Zuko! It's personal! You have no right!" she hissed.

"Well, why did you look through mine?!" asked Zuko as he stood up, and exchanged stares.

Crossing her arms, and looking in the air, Kaara hurriedly replied, "This is different Zuko! It's about mine, not yours!"

Grabbing the diary, Zuko ripped it in half. "Yes it's different. Yours is just a scroll," he said flatly, enjoying Kaara's gasp of astonishment.

With out any warning, Kaara used water to slice Zuko's cloak, which was in her hands, into bits. "You'll pay for that…" uttered Zuko. He saw the choker around her neck, and grabbed it. It ripped in half, and he dropped it on the ground. Expecting Kaara to rip something of his, he saw Kaara fall to the floor. He noticed that she was staring into space, as she held the ripped choker in her hands.

"Zuko, how could you?" Came Kaara's voice meekly, a faint note of anger in her voice. "How could you? This was given to me by my mother!" Kaara's voice went louder, anger more pronounced. Before he could say anything, Kaara stood up, and punched him squarely in the chest.

"Kaara, I'm sorry! I didn't know!" said Zuko, as he tried to fend off the rest of her punches. She ignored him, and tried to punch him anywhere she could. "Kaara, please, stop!" yelled Zuko, grabbing her wrists.

"Let go of me!!" shrieked Kaara, as she kicked Zuko. Feeling numb in his legs, Zuko let go, and felt Kaara punch him in his face.

Panting, Kaara felt a bit guilty, but not much. She started the fight by reading Zuko's diary, but he shouldn't have just torn her diary and her choker. Walking into her parents, room, Kaara found her mother's sewing kit. Sewing with the smallest thread, Kaara started to mend the choker back together. After ten minutes, it was finally put together. It was a bit obvious it ripped when looked at the inner edge, but looked perfect on the outside. Putting it on, Kaara sighed, and walked back into the courtyard.

Zuko rubbed his face; it hurt so much. Never did he realize Kaara could punch hard. Sure she could waterbend, but her punches… Picking up his cloak, Zuko thought, "I wonder why Kaara had to rip that last sentence… I realize that she wanted to keep that secret, but why was it so important?" Scuffling back to the courtyard, Zuko winced at the pain in his chest.

Sokka announced to everyone in the square, "You know what guys, we should take a break from all this hiding. We should have a beach party!" Most of the group agreed eagerly, except for Kaara. She was too annoyed to care.

Zuko rolled his eyes, and asked Aang, "Aang, have you seen Mai?" Aang shook his head, and left Zuko to talk to himself. "Where in the world is Mai? At least I can relax and enjoy-" Glaring at him with pure hatred, Kaara stared at him. Sighing, Zuko went to the beach down the trail. Sokka and Suki were already in their beach clothes, swimming in the salty waters. Frowning, Zuko sat on the sand, and thought, 'I wonder where Mai went…'

Kaara went to the beach, in her bandage undergarments, along with Katara. She said, "Then Zuko ripped my choker." Katara had just listened about the previous half hour, between Kaara and Zuko. "Well, Kaara, you should understand, that maybe Zuko wanted revenge, for us reading his diary… You should say sorry for reading his diary, and Zuko should say sorry for ripping your choker and your diary," suggested Katara. Pouting, Kaara replied, "But it's more than that, Katara. Zuko just almost learned me liking him." They continued to discuss the secret.

Watching the waves lap against the sand, Zuko decided to swim for a change. He took off his shirt, and walked into the water. Never had he really swam before; Zuko just preferred to sit on the beach hidden by a beach umbrella. When he looked down at the water, Zuko noticed large bruises everywhere on his body; his legs, his arms, and his chest. 'Darn it… Now I know Kaara's a force to reckon with.' Deciding to ignore the little pains in his body, as he walked deeper into the water. Finally in water that reached his neck, Zuko started to swim around.

Kaara glared angrily at Zuko, watching him swim around. Katara didn't like the look on her face, and said, "Kaara, if you're planning to do anything dangerous, I'd advise you not to do it." Paying no attention to her best friend, Kaara walked into the water. She made an ice board, and jumped onto it. Bending her way across the water, Kaara carefully made sure Zuko wasn't going to make any big movements in the next few minutes. Surfing closer, Kaara jumped over Zuko, barely missing his head.

"Watch where you're going!" snapped Zuko, shaking a fist angrily at her. Smirking, Kaara went back to shore, and turned the ice back into seawater. "So do you think Zuko's pissed off now?" asked Kaara as she took a piece of string from the sand and tied her hair in a messy bun. Giggling Katara answered, "Yes, and I congratulate you. We should practice on our waterbending quick, since we're kinda near the sea." Shrugging, Kaara agreed. Katara took water from the waves, and sent it towards Kaara in the form of a water whip. Kaara got water from the air, and used it to cut the water whip in half. She asked, "I thought this was a teaching lesson, not a-" An ice disk just missed Kaara's face, as she bent down, countering the attack at the same time, but using a bending formation not at all like waterbending. Katara tried to move, but she felt her arms and legs were frozen. "Wait, what's happening? Kaara what did you do?" demanded Katara. "I don't really know," mumbled Kaara, as she stepped up to see Katara's arms. Tiny droplets practically too small to see, were dotted all over Katara. They were frozen and so close to each other, Katara couldn't move. Unfreezing all the droplets, Kaara said, "I just froze tiny droplets all over you to freeze you." Katara asked, "When did you know how to do this?"

"Umm… I guess it came from a bending move I made up when I was little. My mom didn't know a lot of bending forms, so sometimes we would try to make up bending formations on our own. Lot's of times we copied it from Dad's Firebending. Sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn't," replied Kaara, as she bended some more water from the sea into her hands. "Wow…" said Katara, amazed.

Zuko swam back towards the beach, wading through the clear water when it was shallow enough. He retorted, "Kaara what's up with you, trying to slice off my head with ice."

Kaara dropped the water in her hands into the sand, and responded, "Well, you were in the way, so don't blame me."

Pointing his finger at her, Zuko declared, "Don't act innocent! You missed me on purpose. If this is still about the choker, I'm sorry, and if it's also about the diary, I'm sorry too." Yawning exaggeratedly, Kaara started to walk away. 'Why do I like Kaara again?' "Kaara, I'm not joking. After I read your diary, you just suddenly changed. Instead of the person who was extremely happy, you've turned obnoxious."

She scoffed, "Aww… Poor Zuko, he's whining." Her voice turned normal, as she continued, "Zuko, so what? Just leave me alone." Trudging away, Kaara crossed her arms, and thought silently, 'Zuko's right… But I'm just worried that Zuko will find about me liking him… And if I don't want to be hurt, I just have to either ignore him or treat him like a friend…'

Grimacing, Zuko yelled to Aang, "Aang, come over here!" Aang stopped earth bending with Toph, and immediately came over to Zuko. Zuko said, "Aang, we haven't been training enough. You need to master Firebending before the Comet arrives." "Um… okay," replied Aang, looking at the sand.

Kaara sighed softly, as she noticed the sun was already setting. She slid on her pants, boots, and shirt. "How long were we at the beach?" she asked to herself. "Well, hello Kaara," said a very familiar voice. Turning around sharply, Kaara snapped, "What do you want this time, Mai? If it's about Zuko, I can assure you that I'm over him now. He loves you, not me. So leave me alone." Surprised, Mai replied, "Okay, Kaara… I hope he does…" Her voice was barely heard, but Kaara thought, 'What!? Mai thinks that Zuko doesn't love her? That's impossible! Zuko just hangs around Mai all the time, he talks with her all day long and junk.' Pacing around Appa, she noticed lights coming from the beach; Aang and Zuko were Firebending. Humming quietly to herself, she sat on the steps of the front door of the house, facing the beach. Slowly, the sun was falling from the sky, the sky a deep red. Katara, Sokka, and Suki were walking up the steps to Kaara's house, tired from swimming. They gave a quick hi to Kaara, and Kaara smiled at each 'Hi'. A few minutes later, the sun had completely set, yet it wasn't dark yet. Deciding to go and see if Aang and Zuko were done yet, Kaara jumped from step to step.

Zuko looked at Aang, and instructed, "Aang, do that formation again, with power. You're not going to dance the Fire Lord to death." Aang redid the formation, trying to make the fire longer and more powerful. "That was better," admitted Zuko, as he noticed the sun was gone, "We should go back. It's going to be night time soon." The Firebenders started up the steps, until a certain someone ran into Zuko.

Kaara had turned around, to look into something, and didn't see Zuko and Aang coming. Zuko said, "Do you have a certain fascination with bonking into me?" She tried to keep her temper down, as Kaara stammered, "Sorry, Zuko. I was just going to check on you and Aang…" Looking at her suspiciously, Zuko asked, "Kaara, are you okay? You seem… Nicer now." Aang laughed, "You two are acting weird!"

**0**

Katara said, "You three took a long time to get up here," as Zuko, Kaara, and Aang went into the courtyard. "We only a few bowls of rice right now, so there's not much to eat." Kaara nodded, and passed two of the last three bowls of rice to Aang and Zuko. She silently ate, watching everyone. Toph was hidden in her earth tent, snoring. Suki and Sokka were already in their sleeping bags. After they had finished eating, everyone went to bed. Zuko saw Mai in her sleeping bag, and scowled. He didn't like the fact he didn't see Mai for most of the day. Before his head hit the pillow, he was already asleep.

Kaara went into her sleeping bag, and closed her eyes. For two hours straight, Kaara pretended to sleep. Making sure everyone was asleep, Kaara got out of her sleeping bag, and grabbed Zuko's cloak; it was the only cloak with a hood big enough to cover her face.

Walking back into town, Kaara put the cloak on. She smiled, looking at the very familiar town. It was crowded at daytime, as well as nighttime. Fire lit up the city, and storekeepers were keeping up with the rush of teens going into the stores. A carnival was currently in town, adding more people to the crowd, mostly young children. Going to the boardwalk, Kaara leaned against the wooden railing, separating the town from the ocean. Slowly removing the hood of the robe, Kaara felt the ripped hole in the top. Seeing a small busy store nearby that probably had everything from Fire Flakes to thread and needles, Kaara went inside. Finding a red similar to the color of the hood, and a needle, she went to the cash register and paid. Leaning back against the wooden railing again, Kaara stitched the hole in hood together again.

"What is a good looking girl like you doing all alone?" said a very confident voice next to her. Not turning her head, Kaara looked at him in a glance. It was a teenager probably around 17, who was try to flirt with her. When she looked closer, she saw that he was swaying slightly, as if he was drunk. "Leave me alone," Kaara replied flatly, as she pretended to continue to sew. "My name's Chang, and I'm having a party tonight," said Chang scooting a bit closer. In response Kaara started to walk farther away, to one of the corners in the fence. Chang looked dissatisfied, as he moved nearer, "You know, you're pretty. You're pretty enough to be my girlfriend." He leaned toward her to kiss her. Kaara knew she couldn't use waterbending at all, so she leaned back. Realizing she couldn't move back anymore, she closed her mouth and her eyes. Instead of feeling Chang's breath upon her, she heard somebody falling. Opening one eye, Kaara saw Zuko glaring intensely at the fallen man. "Zuko!" exclaimed Kaara, as she stood up straight.

Chang looked up at the looming Prince above him, and hiccupped, "You're the guy who wrecked up my house! I'm going to-" Zuko kicked Chang's arm, and asked fiercely, "Kaara what are you doing here in town? Something could have happened to you."

"Zuko… I… Uh… Just wanted to get some air. And I wanted to see… How much the town changed…" muttered Kaara; she didn't really know why she went to town. Zuko said, "Kaara, next time. Don't go out in the middle of the night. You're lucky I woke up to get something to drink." He grabbed Kaara's hand, much to her surprise, and dragged her through the mass. Pulling her to the one of the railings, Zuko asked quietly, "Kaara, I've just want to ask you this question before we go back to your house. You don't have to answer… But, what was the secret in you diary?"

Kaara thought, 'I should tell him… I can finally clear my mind… But what if he doesn't like me? Well, at least he will know…' Taking in a deep breath, Kaara said, "Zuko, I'll tell you… But I have to tell you a few things first, and you have to promise me something." Solemnly, Zuko nodded, before she continued, "Zuko, what I'm going to tell you now, started from the first time I met you, to this very minute. You have to promise me that you won't ever bring this up again, and you'll forget everything about this, okay?" Sighing, Zuko promised, "I will, Kaara…" She looked down, and said, "The secret is… that… that…" Realizing she couldn't say it yet, Kaara breathed out, and said…

"I love you."

**-**

**Or maybe NOT so obvious what was going to happen. **

**I just checked on Word how long this thing is... And it's 61 pages... **

**Ooh, and I changed the rating. Drunk plus almost forced kiss is T rated for me. **


	11. Waterbending Fight

**Chapter 11: Waterbending Fight **

Zuko felt as if a thousand lighting bolts just hit him at that second. Kaara ran off into the throng of people, hiding in the moving shades of crimson. "Damn it!" yelled Zuko, as he began hitting his skull against the nearest wooden pole. Little children passing were cheering, as their parents ushered them off the boardwalk. Feeling another bruise on his head, Zuko stopped and tilted his head up. 'Why didn't I realize it before? Kaara was always blushing around me, and she did flirt a couple of times… I can't believe that she loves me! I wish I had someone to talk to right now… Like Uncle… Uncle always gave good advice… But I betrayed him… He won't ever talk to me again…' Hearing no shouts or any form of noise behind him, Zuko turned around. A minute ago, the town was bustling with people, but now… It was a ghost town. On the ground where Kaara had disappeared into the crowd, he saw his robe. Picking it up, Zuko smiled feebly at the fact the hole in the hood was gone. Walking back to the temporary home for the group, Zuko heard a rustle from the bushes behind. Glancing back, he glowered at the bushes, but didn't turn around. Hearing the rustle closer, Zuko whipped his body around and demanded loudly, "Who's there? Tell me who you are, now!" Instead of an answer, Zuko heard a rustle from behind him. Before he could turn around, he felt an iron grip on his shoulders.

"Uncle!" gasped Zuko, when he turned his head around. His uncle looked better than the last time Zuko had seen him, and certainly more fit. Feeling humiliation and guilt over come him, he hung his hid low, and mumbled, "Uncle… I can't believe you're here… Uncle… Are you mad at me for what I've done?" He heard no response from uncle, so Zuko continued, "Uncle, I'm sorry for everything… When I had everything I wanted, it wasn't the way I thought it would be… You taught me so much in my life… And I repaid you with deceit and hate…" He felt tears slowly falling down his face, from both of his eyes. "Uncle, I'm sorry for everything I've done! I shouldn't have even thought of betraying you!"

Zuko felt Iroh hug him tightly, and he heard, "Zuko… I'm not angry… You overcame your mistakes by joining the Avatar. I couldn't be happier." Pulling away, Zuko rubbed his face with his sleeve, and smiled feebly. "Uncle, what are you doing here on Ember Island?"

Iroh answered, "I am finding the members of the White Lotus. Not many are in the Fire Nation, but I'm planning to find some." Puzzled, Zuko asked, "Why do you need to find them uncle?"

"I'm going to get Ba Sing Sei back. If I can find the at least some of the White Lotus, we have a chance of getting it back. Now… I want to talk something other than the war. How have you been doing Zuko?" said Iroh.

"Fine, Uncle… Not the best… You seem better than the last time I saw you…" answered Zuko, grinning as Iroh laughed at his last sentence.

"I have been better. I heard news about Mai disappearing, and telling Azula something about going to join Zuko. Something tells me you two are together right now," informed Iroh.

'Should I tell Uncle about Kaara, or not? It's not like I'll see him for a while, and by then, I'll just be with Mai,' thought Zuko miserably. He always had to make choices, all the time. Every day, there was a fork in the road. One decision would have a cost, the other wouldn't; but you never knew what would happen. "Uncle… We are… But I really need to tell you something about it." Iroh looked at Zuko with a serious face. "I can't put this straight but… There's-this-girl-named-Kaara, well-she-just-told-me-that-she-loves-me. I-love-her-too-but-the-problem-is-that… Kaara doesn't know I love her, Mai loves me, and I love Kaara more than Mai… What should I do?" asked Zuko nervously his eyes glancing to his left and right, most of his explanation all rapidly said.

Staring at him for a moment, Iroh advised, "Zuko, you are in love with Kaara, yet Mai is in love with you. If you just never tell your feelings to Kaara, you will most likely live with Mai for the rest of your life. I suggest you tell Mai, that you have feelings for the girl, and probably Mai will accept that and you can go different ways. Since you know Kaara loves you, express your feelings to Kaara."

Zuko muttered, "But what if Mai doesn't… What if she doesn't accept it?" Iroh said, "She will have to, Zuko." The sun was slowly rising up, so Zuko said, "Uncle, it's morning now… I'm sorry, I have to go." Nodding, Iroh hugged Zuko, before saying, "We will meet after the war." Smiling feebly, Zuko walked off. When he turned around, Iroh was gone. Creeping into the courtyard, he saw Kaara was not in her sleeping bag. From inside the building he heard banging noises; probably metal clashing together. 'What the?' Opening the door to the source of the noise, Zuko rolled his eyes. Kaara was trying to stir dough in a bowl without scraping the metal sides. "Hello, Kaara…" said Zuko, blushing. He tried to make eye contact but he couldn't. Kaara grinned cheerily and responded, "Hi! I'm trying to see if I've gotten any better at cooking since the last time I was in a kitchen. If you want, you can have some bread if you want. And there's some tea on the table. I'm going to go and get something, so I'll be back." She ran out of the room, leaving Zuko to wonder, 'She acts like nothing happened…' He reached for a grab of tea, and instead of expecting the taste of the tea Iroh usually made, Zuko felt the urgent need to vomit. Grabbing the pot, Zuko poured it out of the nearby window, and threw up. Slamming the pot onto the table, Zuko muttered, "Kaara's going to kill everyone with her tea… Her tea is worse than mine!" Deciding to throw the dough out the window incase it killed anyone, Zuko sighed. Kaara jumped into the room, and asked, "Um… Zuko did you eat the dough… And the tea?"

"Uh… Yeah… I guess so," answered Zuko, as he thought, 'Please, please, please, please, Kaara; please don't make anything else!' "Um… It tasted brilliant!"

Beaming brightly at his words, Kaara chirped, "Thanks! I guess my cooking is better than it used to be! I was going to get a pinch of sugar for the dough, but you ate it all."

Looking out the window and out the door, Zuko made sure nobody was in earshot. "Um… Kaara, I want to ask you about last night… Is it true?"

Her body turning stiff, Kaara hissed, "Zuko, I told you not to mention it any more." Realizing his mistake, Zuko said, "Kaara, I just want to know…" "You should go to sleep now Zuko, you've been up all night," advised Kaara flatly, before leaving to the courtyard. Slapping his forehead, Zuko angrily thought, 'Why do I always mess up! I should go to sleep, though…' Yawning, Zuko looked back at the kitchen before walking out. He saw everyone was still asleep, and he snuggled into his red sleeping bag. As soon as his eyes closed, he felt somebody's foot digging into his back.

"What is it?" he asked groggily, seeing Toph above him. She said, "Come on, lazy bum. Sokka already has a plan." Rubbing his eyes, Zuko woozily stood up, and muttered, "Fine…"

Everyone was in a circle around Sokka, who had a grim expression on his face. Zuko and Toph squeezed in a space between Aang and Katara. Aang opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't get any words out. "Aang, what's with you?" asked Zuko impatiently. Shrugging, Aang replied, "Never mind..."

Clearing his throat loudly, Sokka announced, "Um… Guys, we have a serious problem… I thought Sozin's Comet was coming… Well later… But I just found out… It's coming in a week…"

Katara said, "Sokka! That's impossible!! We'll never be able to meet Dad and the rest of the invasion in that time, never mind training them!" "That's what I thought too… The only way we can defeat the Fire Lord before Sozin's Comet, is to defeat him. By ourselves," said Sokka, trying to sound confident.

"It's possible. With a too big of an army, we could be defeated far earlier than if we just have a team. We could probably defeat the Fire Lord, too," declared Suki. Toph exclaimed boastfully, "Yeah! We could kick his butt any day with this small team!"

Mai said, a hint of annoyance in her voice, "You people believe you can just march up to the palace and everyone will let you in. Well, you can't. If I can recall the last invasion during the eclipse, it took a whole army to go into the palace. And the Fire Lord still wasn't there. The palace has even tighter security than before, and let's not forget that the Fire Nation is getting even tougher each day." Gazing straight ahead, with an emotionless voice that outmatched Mai's, Kaara muttered, "Mai, it's not your choice to choose what we all can do. If you think it's impossible, why don't _you_decide how we should defeat the Fire Lord?" Mai shot a death glare at Kaara, but didn't say anything.

Aang sighed, "Guys, don't fight… We need to try and make a plan that will work. It's going to be hard, but we can do it. Mai's right on the fact that we can't just go into the palace. We have to go in some other way."

Rubbing his chin, Sokka wondered out loud, "Maybe we could go in at night, and attack the Fire Lord then… Or maybe Toph and Aang could earth bend a tunnel underneath the palace, and that's how we go in!"

"Sokka, that's a great idea! Oh wait, except for one thing… The tunnel could collapse under a whole palace," said Zuko sarcastically. "The only way we could get even close to the palace is if we were disguised as Fire Nation, and to go in… I don't really know."

Katara suggested, "We could sneak in with guard uniforms. If one of us can get at least one uniform, we could sneak in."

Suki said, "That could be possible, Katara, but I don't think they'll let us in, unless we all have uniforms." Kaara suggested, "I guess I could help make more of the uniforms, if one of us can get at least one."

Sokka exclaimed, "Yes! That's perfect! Then when we're inside, Zuko leads us to wherever the Fire Lord is most of the time. Then we beat him, and we win!"

Aang said, "Sokka, we have to train first, as much as we can. If any of us has weak spots when we battle him…" The young Airbender looked at the ground, before continuing, "Something could happen."

Zuko was the first one who stood up. "Fine. Aang, training. Now." Nodding, Aang followed him. Instead of feeling alert, Zuko felt sluggish when he started practicing the Dancing Dragon with Aang. Watching the Firebender closely, Aang inquired, "Zuko, are you okay? You seem… Not yourself."

Yawning, Zuko uttered, "I didn't have enough sleep last night… Aang, try that form again." He tried to focus on Aang, but his mind kept drifting away. 'Aang's getting better at Firebending… I wonder if he could bend lightning… Can I bend lightning? Maybe… I'll find out someday… I feel hungry… That horrible tea that Kaara made didn't help my stomach at all… Hmm… Kaara… I wonder what's she's doing right now… Wait, dum dum. Pay attention to Aang…"

Kaara sighed, "Katara, let's keep training…" Katara agreed, "Yeah, we need to practice on your defense. You're amazing at attack, but you can't defend as well." The two waterbenders walked to an empty corner of the courtyard. Katara instructed, "Kaara, we're going to have a bending fight, so I can see what else you need to work on." Bowing, Kaara bowed to her teacher, and walked backwards, farther from Katara. In one movement, Katara had retrieved water from the fountain in the courtyard, and sent it flying as a water whip towards Kaara. Kaara used water from her water bag and froze it around her. The water whip smashed into the miniature fort, and fell onto the floor. Hearing the water splash, Kaara sent ice disks towards Katara. The ice disks missed their mark by a couple of inches. Spinning water around her body, Katara had risen up in the air, a column of water spinning around her. Moving towards Kaara at a fast pace, Katara was ready to beat Kaara. Kaara jumped out of the way, and used the rest of the water in her bag to surround her body in an ice suit. Smirking, Katara moved closer to Kaara and used the water pillar to try and defeat Kaara. Kaara let the ice armor melt back to water, as she froze the water surrounding her. The ice column froze, with Kaara inside the base, and Katara at the top of the pillar. A large cracking noise came from inside, and suddenly, a fracture formed in the middle. Splitting in half, the ice slid away a few inches from each other. Kaara jumped from the ice, and sent a water whip at Katara. Blocking it with a wall of ice, Katara noticed that Kaara was in a wrong position. Her arms were too far apart and up, instead of being close and in the center. Before Kaara knew it, an ice dagger stopped a few inches from her heart.

"Dead," said Katara bleakly. The ice fell onto the cobblestones, breaking into minute pieces. Grinning half heartedly, Kaara said weakly, "Um… I'll try harder next time." She bowed to her master respectfully, while Katara praised her, "You did great, Kaara. You just need to pay attention to your stance. The only reason that I won this battle so far was that your arms were open. If I was any of our enemies, you would be dead." The Waterbender smiled gently at Kaara, who nodded.

Through out the whole fight, instead of paying attention to Aang, Zuko had watched the battle. In his mind he had rooted for Kaara, but was impressed that Kaara knew how to fight so well. 'Hmm… Wow… Kaara was good… I liked that ice armor… And when she went into the water thing that Kaara did… She's a great fighter… A really great fighter… Pretty too…' "Zuko? Um..." came Aang's voice. "What?!" asked Zuko, furiously. "Um… I just wanted to know… Was that a better form this time?" asked Aang.

Taken aback, Zuko stammered, "Oh! It was… Uh… great. You can take a break now…"

-

ZOMG. I feel happy! Why? Cause Suki, Toph, and Sokka speak at least more than one line in this chapter. They're kinda hard to put into the story, since... Well... I find it hard to write what they would say. But I do promise more Toph in the next chapter!! Oh, one more thing. I don't know if I spelled the Earth Kingdom capital's name right...

Now the bad news; ugh! I hate my writing of the Zuko and Iroh meeting... EPIC FAILZ I wish I had the brains of the script writers of ATLA... And I hate the fight scene between Katara and Kaara in this chapter. I have every fight in my head, and I can't put it on Word, for some odd reason. At least it gives you a faint idea though... grumble grumble

Now for the annoying part of the Author's note...

Comment, please. Comment!


	12. Even More Pain

**Chapter 12: Even More Pain**

Kaara sighed, as she thought miserably, 'Ugh, I wish I could be as good as Katara...' "Um... Katara, since you know that I can use other bending formations and then change them into Waterbending stances, I'm going to ask Toph if she can teach me some Earthbending forms, okay?" Shrugging, Katara nodded and used waterbending to move the water back into the fountain. Toph was laying on the ground, picking her nose as she did so. "Hello, Toph! I have a question..." said Kaara, a bit disgusted by Toph's actions. "Sure what is it?" asked Toph, sitting up. "My question is... Could you teach me Earthbending? Not like earthbending bending, but you teach me the forms so I can use them for Waterbending," explained Kaara. Picking at her toes, Toph answered, "Sure. Nothing else much to do anyway." Cracking her knuckles, the blind Earthbender said, "From your fight earlier, I could tell you were weak in stances, especially defensive ones. Don't be so surprised; I've been around Katara long enough to learn enough of Waterbending moves." Toph had somehow known that Kaara had a shocked expression, leading Kaara to flush with embarrassment. Toph moved immediately into a Earthbending stance and said, "This is the simplest Earthbending move. If you can't even do this one, you can never Earthbend. If you're wondering what it does, watch carefully." Repeating the stance again, Toph Earthbended a medium thick wall of stone around her, concealing her. Earthbending the wall back into the stone, Toph waited for Kaara to repeat it. Pouring water in a puddle, Kaara then stepped into the water. Taking a quick breath, Kaara remembered the stance, and repeated it. Instead of smooth walls in a circle, the ice was irregular and made an oval around her with edges that curved outward. "You did it completely wrong, Kaara. You thought like a Waterbender; fluid and defensive. You have to think like an Earthbender; solid and head on." "So how do I do that?" retorted Kaara, crossing her arms across her chest. Was it even possible to be solid and head on? Kaara didn't think so, at all. Using the same stance again, Toph said, "You balance you're weight evenly on your feet. That way," She resumed a horse stance, "You're solid like a rock, and it would be hard for people to knock you off their feet. You're movements have to be fast and strong. Now try that again." Scratching the back of her neck, Toph waited patiently for Kaara to try again. Kaara repeated what Toph had said under her breath, and tried again, with water. Unlike before, the ice was much thicker and rigid. It was smooth and a more well formed circle around her. Through the ice, Kaara could see Toph move her hands against the wall of ice. "Well, good job, Hyper. You are actually good. I'll teach you more tomorrow, so you don't stress your liquid muscles," snickered Toph, with a smirk plastered on her face.

"Thanks, Toph! I think it's- Wait... Hyper and liquid muscles?!" Kaara pouted angrily, "I am NOT hyper, and I do have muscles! They're just uh... Small, I guess..." Her face turned red, as Toph replied, smugly, "Like I said, Ms. Hyper." Toph strutted away, beaming brightly.  
Zuko sat on the steps up to the patio, and yawned sleepily. He felt silk brush against his bare arms, as his eyelids flickered."Hi Zuko," said Mai.  
Rubbing his eyes, Zuko sat up, and replied, "Hello Mai." When he turn to face her he was surprised by the genuine smile on her face. It wasn't a large grin, just a faint smile.

"Zuko, I've been thinking about a lot of things... And I just wanted to tell you... That you're the only reason I still smile these days..." admitted Mai, as she leaned against Zuko's shoulder. Zuko felt a pang of guilt, as he replied, "Mai... You should smile more, with or without me." Looking up at him with a devious smile, Mai said, "You know what would make me smile even more?" Smiling feebly, Zuko kissed Mai on her lips, and her smile broadened.  
Kaara ignored the fact that Zuko was kissing Mai, and focused on another couple; Aang and Katara. They were sitting next to each other, talking about something, their faces redder than they should have been. "Hi you two!" greeted Kaara cheerily, as she sat on Katara's side. They mumbled a simple hi to her. Kaara asked, "Umm... What's wrong"

"Nothing... Katara and I were just talking about... Uhh..." said Aang, from Katara's left. Finishing for him, Katara said hurriedly, "About when we should leave Ember Island." "So when are we?" said Kaara, as she made a small pile of dirt with her hands. "Today. Maybe in a few hours. We're going to the Fire Nation capitol," said Aang. "We already told Sokka, and he agreed... The only problem is... That we don't have a place to stay and train there"  
Immediatly, Kaara thought of her old home. Probably there was no one there, since people believed that it was haunted by Yoko's spirit. "We could stay at my house. Nobody is there, that I assure you," suggested Kaara. "That's great!" chorused Katara and Aang together. "You don't mind us being there, right?" asked Katara. Shrugging, Kaara replied, "No not really..." Shooting up, and looking excited, Kaara exclaimed, "Oh! Katara, Toph taught me this one Earthbending move!" Using water from the air, Kaara made a giant puddle around her. Kaara moved into the Earthbending stance, and the ice walls surrounded her again. Peering over the icy surface, Kaara asked, "So what do you think"

Impressed, Katara complimented her student. "Good, it's a perfect defense move." With a flick of the hand, Katara returned the ice into liquid form. Sokka and Suki strolled over, as Suki said, "Guys, are you all ready? I can't wait till the day we beat Ozai." She punched an invisible opponent, as Sokka asked, "We just don't know where to stay..." "Kaara said that we can stay at her old house for the meantime..." mumbled Aang, as he wrapped his arms around his knees. When Suki had mentioned Ozai, goosebumps went all over his arms. "That's great! We better pack up now!" exclaimed Sokka, as he ran off alone to pack up his stuff. Rolling her eyes, Suki giggled, "Sokka gets weird sometimes." Adjusting her top, Kaara said, "Yep, I'm going to go inside the house, now." Glaring at Kaara, Mai watched her approach Zuko and her. Kaara asked, her voice exaggeratedly sweet, "Could you please move, so I don't step all over you?" Getting up sharply, Mai hissed, "Yes, I will..." Kaara purposely kicked Zuko in the ribs, as she walked into her home. Wincing at the pain, Zuko thought, 'Ow! Geez, can't she give me a break? I just asked her about last night only once...' Shivering at the slight of the house, Kaara walked into a couple of the rooms. It was the smallest room in the house, but to an average person, it was a large room. It held all of her father's weapons; broad swords to tiny daggers. The largest sword was set on a plaque, which was set at the other end of the room. Kaara's father loved the sword, which he had made himself. The reason she came into the room was simple; Kaara needed a weapon, just incase she ever needed one. Holding up a small dagger that fit neatly into her pant pocket, Kaara chose that knife. She slid it into it's sheath, and hid it in her pocket. Mai leaned against Zuko's shoulder, and said, "I wonder why everyone's packing up now." Sleepily, Zuko guessed, "Maybe we're going to leave Ember Island..." Smiling, Mai said, "Oh good; I've had enough of this bright sun shiny place anyway." Agreeing, he nodded sleepily, as he closed his eyes. Suddenly, pain erupted from the back of his skull. "OW!" he yelled, as he grabbed the back of his head. Turning around, he demanded, "Why in the name of Sozin did you kick me in the head?!" Ignoring Zuko, Kaara just jumped over Zuko, and went towards the sky bison. Rubbing the back of his head, Zuko muttered, "Mai... Why does she hate me?"

Mai responded, "I don't know. And why do you care?" Obviously, Mai was not pleased at all, by the frown on her face. "Nevermind..." uttered Zuko, as he leaned against the steps, and fell asleep.

Momo scurried up Kaara's legs, and sat on her shoulder. "Hi, Momo! I have to pack up now, so um... Could you get off my shoulder?" asked Kaara, as quiet as she could speak. Tilting his head to the left, Momo chattered something in Flying Lemur language, and jumped off to find something to eat. Smiling, Kaara jumped onto the saddle where everyone, or at least most, was waiting.

-

One of the shorter chapters so far... I'll try to make it longer next time... But... YAY!! Over 400 hits! But that's still not alot, but who cares! I am happy for two reason; the 400 hits, and the fact I learned Dante Basco is a Filipino! Yay! Another reason to love Zuko!

Oh, and no Zuko's were harmed in this chapter... Much.


	13. UPDATE

UPDATE:

I feel really bad for not updating for months; school work got in the way. Summer started a month ago, and when I was going to write more... My laptop's power supply died. I'll try to use my Dad's and see if I can remember the last of the chapter I wrote.

~~Elan


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